


Phases of the Moon

by ikki_04



Category: Mamamoo
Genre: Alternate Universe - Historical, F/F, Love/Hate, Romance, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Slow Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-20
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-18 20:55:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 24,836
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28873452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ikki_04/pseuds/ikki_04
Summary: Yongsun finds herself thrown into a marriage to save the lives of their people. Byulyi vowed that she'll never get married in this lifetime. Unfortunately, fate has been cruel to her as she finally faces her wife-to-be.
Relationships: Ahn Hyejin | Hwasa/Jung Wheein, Kim Yongsun | Solar/Moon Byulyi | Moonbyul
Comments: 9
Kudos: 61





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> cross-posted from aff

**:::**

King Haejin closes his eyes, not wanting to meet the eyes of his people. Just for a second— a second to let him compose himself and organize his thought. Perhaps, he is also ashamed to do so. How could he even look at them in the eyes and shatter the only hope left that they’ve been holding for so long? But he has to. He _has_ to. 

He takes a long deep breath before he delivers the message he has received from an envoy from Wolgwang who arrived earlier before taking his leave. _Wolgwang,_ the children of the Moon—Cheon-il’s enemy.

Come to think about it, the two nations are bound to clash swords with each other. The Kingdom of Cheon-il, the children of the Sun, and the Kingdom of Wolgwang where the people are favored by the Moon. It seems that a bloodbath is inevitable between them for they are the complete opposite of each other.

It has been ages since the feud between the two kingdoms has started and it has finally come to an end like this.

Wolgwang has waged war. If Cheon-il does not surrender within a month, they should expect the military prowess that Wolgwang has always boasted about.

Haejin, of course, knows about Wolgwang’s capability. They are always true to their words. If they say they’ll burn Cheon-il to ashes and paint their land red then they’ll do it. He knows this because they have experienced it first hand. That is how Wolgwang kept on expanding their territory— by conquering land after land. With their enemy’s growing military power, Cheon-il has slowly lost theirs.

Cheon-il has lost lands. Worse, they’ve lost lives. Countless lives have been slain at the hands of Wolgwang’s soldiers.

_His people._ His men have died protecting their land and their people until their last breath. Haejin failed to do that. He failed at protecting the lives of his people but as he is faced with the predicament, he will change that. He will protect the lives of his people. He will not let their efforts be in vain.

“What will we do, your highness?” he could see the fear and hopelessness reflected on his eyes as he speaks and Haejin understands him well for he has every right to do so and as King, it is his job to assure his people that he will do everything in his might to protect their lives, no matter what.

“We will surrender,” no matter how many times he has repeated that in his mind, it still pains him to say it out loud to his people.

“Your highness!” the men in front of him calls to him, including his loyal advisor, Lee Changho. Most have partly expected this but to hear it coming from their King doesn’t make it less surprising.

“The lives of our people are far more important,” he continues, “I will personally negotiate with their king.” Haejin knows the reason behind why Wolgwang is so eager in taking their lands. With Wolgwang expanding their territory also comes with the growing population. This means that they have more mouths to feed but their food supply couldn’t catch up with the growing demand. This is where Cheon-il comes in. Cheon-il is blessed by the sun. They both have fertile soil and grace from the Sun, something that Wolgwang doesn’t have. They have abundant vegetation all-year-round and this is something that Wolgwang badly covets.

“I have already requested an audience from their King in two-weeks time.”

He could see that they are doubtful about the outcome of the negotiation even though they tried hard to hide it, “I have also decided to offer my daughter’s hand to the youngest Moon for marriage,” he continues, and surely, it roused his people. The Moons practice monogamy and only accepts one mate in their lifetime. Their young King has already married which leaves Haejin to have the youngest Moon instead.

“Your highness!” Haejin particularly hears a voice that stood out among the officials and high-ranking soldiers in front of him. _Lee Joon._ The young man has almost the same features as his adviser only that he is younger and has a better build than his father who has grown frail with age. The sudden announcement shocked them, especially Joon who is the princess’ childhood friend.

The marriage means only one thing and it all crossed everyone’s minds.

_The marriage will protect them._

They might surrender but their lives will be spared.

For the Moons of Wolgwang in the West honors their marriage.

The Moons are known for being intense and devoted spouses. They take their marriage seriously and are very protective of their partners.

A moment of silence has fallen upon them before realizing how shameful they were for thinking for their safety first before the princess. They are literally sending their princess as the Moon’s prisoner in exchange for the lives of their people.

Joon had his eyes firmly on the ground. He could not dare look up for he knows that there is only anger and rage in his eyes. His body subtly shook because he couldn’t hold in the fire in his body. He wanted to snarl at the King for making such a decision. _How could he? How could he dare throw his daughter in the hands of those savages?_ Joon could not believe it. One second he was just talking with Yongsun at the garden then left shortly when the King called for them only to deliver the message that he’s going to offer Yongsun’s hand in marriage to the youngest Moon. _Yongsun._ His heart ached for her. _How can fate be this cruel?_

“How about the princess?” he mutters under his breath.

Even if Lee Joon is the son of the wise adviser of their King and a captain among their soldiers, it still doesn’t give him the right to be outright rude to him. Not at their King.

“Joon!” Changho calls out his son in anger.

Haejin raises his hand to let them know that it is fine and that he doesn’t take offense at him for questioning him despite not addressing him to speak.

“We have to think about our people, Captain Joon. If the marriage between the two would save us, then so be it.” Haejin, despite the shame and embarrassment that he felt for being so cowardly, looked at him straight to his eyes, his voice firm and unwavering and to Joon, it sounded that their King just announced his death. He felt numb and his feet, stuck to the ground. Haejin truly feels sorry about the tragic fate between Joon and Yongsun. If it weren't for this, he would have allowed the young Captain to marry his daughter who has chosen to remain unattached to anyone despite the many suitors who have tried to woo her heart. It is as if her daughter has been waiting for someone. _Lee Joon._

But Haejin could not afford to send his men to war only to be defeated and killed by the hands of the soldiers of Wolgwang. He could not afford to let their bodies bleed to death in a war where they are sure to lose because even before a war could brew between them, Wolgwang has already won. It is hard to accept but Cheon-il is at their mercy. Their fate lies on the very hand of their enemy who has slain Haejin's people.

Cheon-il could not afford to lose more.

If Haejin wants to save his people then he has to sacrifice his only daughter to the hands of the Moons.

_Yongsun._

He clenches his fist and tries his best to stop his tears from betraying him.

_Would he be so selfish if he asks his beloved daughter to forgive him?_

_His Yongsun who still doesn’t know what is to come._

He swallows the lump of betrayal down to his throat.

By offering his daughter's hand without her knowing, he has broken her trust.

Yongsun will be utterly be betrayed by her very own father.

_He is a King to his people before he is a father to his only daughter._

“It is settled then,” Haejin stands up, looking down at his few trusted people who await his decision, “I would arrive in Wolgwang in two-week’s time and negotiate to their King. Let us pray that the Sun will help us and may give us good news after my visit.”

His daughter has to remain strong. He hopes that her light wouldn’t waver when she is left alone in the land of the Moon. A Sun’s light never wavers, it burns bright and strong and he firmly believes that Yongsun shall do the same and shed her light on the Moon.

_The Sun never tires out from giving her light to the Moon and the Moon never tires out receiving light from the Sun._

As a part of the world will be shrouded in darkness, the Moon would be the one to provide light in place of the Sun but it has to realize that it needs the Sun’s light to shine in the dark.

He prays that Yongsun would not cower in fear when she has to face the dark side of the Moon and instead continue to shine her light to guide the Moon.

Cheon-il needs her to shed light on them. 

She is their light.

She is their only hope.

_May the Sun help us all._


	2. New Moon: Part 1

**:::**

Yongsun sighs as she finally fends off her guards after taking some shortcuts and routes that she has discovered as she wanders around with her disguise every time she goes out of the palace. She could draw a map of the city which has been etched on her mind with years of sneaking out at her hand. 

Not a second later, she feels the guilt creeping inside her for causing trouble to her guards. She knows that they’ll get an earful from their superior for losing her _once_ _again._ But then again, this would not happen if they were very good at doing their job. How could the Royal Guards with years of immense training and experience lose sight of a mere princess? Not that Yongsun is bragging about her skills at sneaking out but she thinks that she has a point in there.

She tries to bury the guilt away and consoles herself that she needed this momentary freedom. She needs to get away from the palace. Even for just a short while. 

She needs to breathe.

And the only place where she can be free is outside the palace walls. The world beyond her prison. 

Because when she steps outside, she is not Kim Yongsun, the princess of Cheon-il, and the only daughter of King Haejin. When she is outside, she is just Yongsun– a citizen of Iljo, the capital city of Cheon-il. She is just one of the many children of the Sun.

She wears a dull hanbok that she took from Wheein, her handmaiden. She also didn’t forget to take some silver in case she finds something she wants to buy. Forgetting these two basic things would be a rookie mistake– one that she has committed when she first set foot outside the walls after her guards lost sight of her when she hid away from them and crawled towards the small hole on the wall that she had discovered with Wheein.

How would a young child such as her know that only the noblemen and women were allowed to wear silken and colorful clothing? She also didn’t know that she has to give something in return to the merchants when she asked for an apple from them. None of her teachers taught her anything like that. Right at that moment, she knew that she still has a lot to learn— things that are beyond and more than what her mentors could teach her inside the palace, however, before she could even do that, her first adventure outside the palace was immediately cut-short as the Royal Guards found her which by the way was an easy task for the princess stood out among the crowd like a sore thumb.

She was heavily scolded, one that she has already expected even before she stepped outside the palace. _You should not go outside the palace without your guards, princess!_ her former handmaiden chided, her wrinkles prominent because of her age. _Then, is it alright to go out as long as they are with me?,_ she asked her handmaiden who she also sees as her mother-figure, only to say _No_ at her.

She doesn’t understand why they were so persistent in keeping her inside the walls.

“It’s dangerous,” Wheein once said to her when she asked her, “It’s because you are important to Cheon-il. You are the princess and the King couldn’t afford to lose his only daughter,”

She asked her father countless times and her father would reply a firm _no_ to all of her requests.

_There is nothing to see outside, child. Tell me what you want and I'll give it to you instead,_ her father replied but all Yongsun could think of is that the only thing that she wants is to go outside and mingle with the common folk. 

“I’ll become the strongest soldier in Cheon-il so that I’ll be able to protect you,” a young Joon promised her so that he could accompany her outside once he has proven to be reliable and capable to protect the princess.

“Promise?” upon hearing his words, Yongsun perks up after crying, tears long forgotten with his promise.

“Promise,” he smiles as he pats his adorable childhood friend.

Since she’s not able to go, she would ask Wheein what is it like outside. Wheein then would tell her things she hasn’t seen in the palace. Things that weren’t taught by her teachers. Yongsun could only imagine what is it like to be outside. Wheein would always bring her stories every time she goes out. From Wheein’s stories, Yongsun concluded that despite the palace being so colorful, it pales into comparison to the life outside the walls where everything and everyone is hustling and bustling with liveliness. The energy outside is just so palpable and Yongsun longs to feel it on her own.

With that, she could not help but sneak out for the second time again.

Then came a third.

When she's lucky enough, then another.

Yongsun has quickly memorized everyone's routine and dynamics that helped her plan better.

Her expeditions outside are followed by another one until it became so frequent that the common folk already knows that among them must be the princess.

Sometimes she would have Wheein come along with her because the latter kept on telling her that it’s dangerous and that she’s worried for her. Despite Wheein always nagging at her, the two enjoyed their adventures outside.

Throughout the years, Yongsun has become skillful at sneaking out. 

She sometimes would need Wheein's help to distract her guards. There are also times that she fails to fend them off, ultimately catching her and in they go to the palace where her father awaits to scold her, _again._

She has become acquainted with the people outside and even befriended some.

“Princess! You just came at the right time! Your favorite tteok is still warm,” an old woman calls to her when she checked that it was really the princess.

Yongsun gestures for her to lower her voice down as to not attract the attention of the surrounding people, “I’m sorry,” the woman smiles sheepishly, “Yongsun-ah, would you like one?” she calls her name instead of her royal title. 

Yongsun smiles at the motherly affection and nods. She remembers how long it took her to have her call her name instead and she literally cried in happiness when one day she called her Yongsun.

She takes the silver and gave it to her.

“Oh, you don’t have to!” the woman refuses but Yongsun is persistent to have her accept the money.

“Please, accept it. If you don’t, you’ll lose your favorite and loyal customer,” she jokes though ultimately letting her know that she won’t have it in another way. The old woman concedes and accepts the money, “I have to say that I make the best tteok here in our city so I doubt that you won’t come back here,”

“I hate to agree with you but yes, you do make the best tteok here in Iljo and probably all over Cheon-il,” Yongsun then bids her goodbye as she wanders around the city more.

There were few who recognized her but didn’t say anything as Yongsun gestured to keep it a secret. They let her be, knowing that the young princess enjoys her time outside the palace. 

After strolling, she has grown tired and would like to take a sit under her favorite tree located at the hill. It took her longer than usual as she walked slowly, taking in the beauty of her surroundings.

One last step then she plops inelegantly on the ground. She could already hear her teachers scold her for being so crass and inelegant with her actions. _That is inappropriate for a princess, your highness._

She hums peacefully, joining the birds up above making a harmonious sound.

Yongsun relaxes and leans her back to the tree. She could feel the rough bark of the tree prickling her but it really doesn’t bother her. She has gotten used to it as she loves to sit down under the tree to rest.

Her teachers aside, the people in the palace seems to be keeping something away from her. She asks Wheein if she knows something or heard any rumors but unfortunately, she also knows nothing but she did share her suspicions with Yongsun that the higher-ups are definitely hiding something. 

She was talking with Joon in the garden when suddenly they were interrupted because her father called the presence of every important person in the palace. There were even governors from faraway cities that arrived earlier. The Ministers were even called.

It definitely has something to do with the envoy that arrived yesterday. She has heard that it came from Wolgwang.

_If it came from Wolgwang–_

Her line of thought gets cut off as she sees a familiar figure coming towards her from the corner of her eyes.

She smiles, as always, whenever she sees him, “Joon-ah,” she calls gently and urges him to sit beside her. With no eyes following her every move, she is free to do what she wants. Joon smiles at her and obliges as he sits next to her. She senses that something is wrong. Joon’s smile doesn’t reflect what is on his eyes. _He’s sad._ Growing up with him, Yongsun has learned how to read Joon. He may smile but his eyes never lie. _Never._

“What’s wrong?” she asks and she feels him stiffen by her side. _So, she’s right. Something is wrong._ “And don’t you dare lie to me,” she continues as she sees his mouth forming the word _nothing._

“I–” Joon averts his eyes. He couldn’t meet her eyes but Yongsun cups his face to face her. He closes his eyes as he leans to her warm touch, “Yongsun-ah,”

It pains Yongsun to hear him call to her like that. It is as if his heart has been torn to pieces. 

“Will you tell me?”

“I can’t,” he whispers in pain and agony. He promised the King that he would be the one to tell her first and that is why Joon came to find her.

“Okay,” she understands and envelopes Joon in an embrace as she let him lean on her.

A moment of silence falls upon them before Joon breaks out from her embrace. He stares at her, etching her features into his mind. He moves his eyes down to her soft-looking lips and leans to close the gap between them. He sees Yongsun do the same as her eyes also traveled down to his lips. As he is about to close in to capture her lips, Yongsun reels back at the last second as if she has been pulled back to reality. The two of them clears their throat and dusts their clothes as they stand up.

“Shall we go back?” Joon asks as if nothing happened back then, just like how he acts every time Yongsun loses herself momentarily and she is thankful for that. _As if they weren’t about to kiss. Again._

Yongsun nods and takes his hand instead, “Let’s go.”

Yongsun enters the room after announcing her presence to her father. The first thing she sees in the room is the golden sun hanging at the center, adorned by specks of gold. It never fails to amaze her for it always reminds her that the sun's light never wavers but somehow the somber atmosphere and grave expression on her father's face, the sun's light seems to flicker.

The King glances at the people around and gestures for them to back away, leaving both father and daughter alone to give them privacy. The ladies-in-waiting as well as Wheein quietly follows the King’s order and waited patiently outside, together with the guards who are in the post.

It’ll be a long talk.

This will totally break his daughter’s heart.

He clenches his fist, preparing himself from her daughter’s wrath. He would have preferred it if Yongsun would lash out on him. If doing so could possibly alleviate the anger and pain from her daughter, then so be it. Maybe, just a bit inside of him hopes that in this way, Yongsun would somehow forgive him. He knows that it is selfish of him to ask Yongsun to forgive after making a decision without her but he can’t bear to have his only daughter to not forgive him. It’ll tear his heart apart. It didn’t need to be now. Even if it takes years for her to forgive him, he’ll accept.

_Selfish. So selfish._

However, the moment his eyes meet hers, he knows that it would not be the case. Instead of lashing or screaming at him, Yongsun is actually quiet but her eyes weren’t. It is burning in resentful contempt.

Yongsun could barely compose herself. Spiteful words are already at the tip of her tongue but she has to hold herself in. _No, don’t give him what he wants._ _Don't give him the satisfaction of lashing out._

Give him silence for it is louder than the roar of a mighty lion.

She clenches her hand instead. _Hard_. She clenches hard that she could feel the stinging pain on her palms. She’s close to drawing blood on her hands.

“Yongsun-ah,”

Her ears burn at the mention of her name.

“Don’t,” she says, gritting her teeth to stop herself from screaming, _“Don’t_ you dare call my name so affectionately like that.” She immediately dries the lone tear that betrayed her, still glaring at the man who she couldn’t call her father anymore.

“I–” but despite the fact that he betrayed her, seeing him cry still pains her. _A lot._ “It’s the only that I could do to protect everyone.”

“By selling me out to our enemies?” she counters and Haejin remains silents as her words hold the bitter truth.

“Yes, you did protect everyone,” she continues when he didn’t answer, “but you couldn’t protect me,” she sobs.

She did not realize that she is already crying, not until she felt the hot trail her tears left as it escaped from her now stinging eyes. 

_You are indeed a King but have ceased to be a father._

“T-then I’ll call it off–

Yongsun laughs emptily. There is a hint of mockery in there as she stares at him confounded at his remark. 

She no longer has tears in her eyes. She’ll save it for later.

How dare he pulls his card to guilt-trip her?

He has all this planned.

He never gave her the chance to refuse in the first place.

He took it upon himself to choose for her knowing that she could never refuse.

“You’re cruel. _So cruel,”_ she says incredulously, “How can I refuse when the lives of our people are in my hands?” Haejin hangs his head shamelessly, looking so helpless in front of her daughter.

“You didn’t give me any choice. You decided for me.”

If only her father asked her first. What hurt and betrayed her the most is that her _father_ didn’t even give her any choice. He just pushed her into something she didn’t even know about. He broke the trust Yongsun had in his father.

If only he didn’t decide for her, Yongsun would have chosen to save the lives of her people either way. _No matter what._

As the princess of Cheon-il, it is her duty to serve and protect their people, and if through this marriage will they be saved, then so be it.

She remains as the princess of Cheon-il but as a daughter? She’s not sure.

“It is decided then,” she breathes after gathering herself, “I will marry the youngest Moon in exchange for the lives of our people.”

The determination in her eyes relieves Haejin but he knows that he is still not forgiven. _Far from it._

_May time heal you, my precious daughter. May the Sun guide you and protect you on your rough journey._

**:::**

“Call me if you need me, okay?” Wheein says as she tucks Yongsun on her bed after saying that she wants to be left alone. She already has the ladies-in-waiting return to their quarters and is now checking if Yongsun needs anything else.

Yongsun remains silent as she turns her back to Wheein who remains understanding despite her not saying anything after the talk with the King.

When she’s sure that her handmaiden is already away, she let the tears that she has been suppressing earlier to finally flow.

The betrayal still remains fresh.

How could her father do this to her? 

Did he even hesitate to marry her off to their enemy? Did he? Even for just a second?

Sometimes, she hates that she’s a princess. The responsibility that she has to bear on her shoulder is tremendous. She holds accountable for thousands of lives she has on her hands. It’s so hard ... and frightening.

The way that she has to live by a life that she doesn’t want to. She didn't choose to be a princess in the first place.

Ever since she was young, Yongsun has always been the odd one. She’s not like any other noble and she is a princess at that. She doesn’t have the innate elegance required for a princess. Beats her what it means to have an innate elegance. She could barely hold herself from letting out sarcastic remarks. 

She has always been scolded by her teachers. ‘ _Princess, you can’t do that!’, ‘That is not the right way to do, your highness,’ ‘When will you start to act like a princess?’_

Just what does it mean to be a princess? Why does she have to follow questionable procedures and protocols? Why is she not allowed to mingle with the common folk? Why is she restricted from doing a lot of things? Why can’t she be happy doing something that she wants to do? Why does she have to be suffocated by all of this?

Sometimes, she just wants to run away. Somewhere far where no one could recognize her. She has thoughts of leaving her responsibility a lot of times already but she could not. 

_Why?_

Because she is the princess of their kingdom. She is the Princess of Cheon-il.

Along the way, Yongsun finds the answer to her question.

Something that wasn’t taught to her by her teachers or any other scholars.

It is something that she has realized all by on her own as she stepped foot outside the palace walls.

She has seen the smiles and laughter of the people. She has listened to the stories that they have shared on the streets. She has seen the boisterous conviviality of the people shared as the night deepens and enjoy the stars that twinkle upon them. She has seen how the people live and try to make ends meet to feed their families. She has witnessed hardships, failures, and success with her very own eyes as she walks along with them.

She chooses not to run away because she wants to protect and serve their people. 

She wants to continue to see them smile and laugh.

She wants to see them live their lives.

Even if that means that she has to bear the burden, no matter how heavy.

Even if that means that she has to sacrifice herself for her people.

Even if it’s hard, as long as she can see her people happy, then somehow she’ll be happy.

Even if it hurts, _for now._

Her pillow has become wet from her tears. She may have cried a lot tonight. She smiles a little at her pillow, patting it for a job well done for it has been her witness to her every ups-and-downs in her life. _Especially whenever she hits her low._

Speaking of her witness to everything in her life, she thinks of Joon.

Her eyes water again at the thought of him.

From a very young age, even way before she met Wheein, it has always been her and Joon. They’ve been each other's support and is still now. They have shared tears and laughter. They have leaned to each other when times get rough and when they needed someone to vent out their sadness and frustrations. They were each other's companion. Joon has been her friend and has grown to be someone who she deeply cares about.

She knows that the feeling is mutual but she has always kept it to herself, not making any moves to deter him from his dreams. Joon has always dreamed to be a mighty soldier. He’s currently a Captain and is working hard to ultimately become the General. It'll probably take him years before he could achieve that.

She could not bother to work on her feelings for she knew that her future is not set in stone. It’s uncertain. Always uncertain.

_But why has she refused every suitor that came to woo her?_

Almost everyone has pestered her to get married already because every woman at her age is doing so. It does not make sense for their princess to not marry therefore they have called upon bachelors from everywhere in Cheon-il that fits the standards to be her husband.

Some were decent but no one has ever left an impact on her.

Maybe because her heart has always been waiting for Joon that it couldn't bother to entertain others.

Joon has always looked at her with so much warmth but she has always tried her best to hold herself.

She doesn’t want to hurt him if ever the time comes that she has to leave him.

And Yongsun was right.

Now, she will be set to marry a Moon if ever the negotiations will pull through.

She laughs bitterly at the way how her life turned out.

She walks toward the sliding door and opens a small gap– enough to let her witness the magnificence of the Moon yet to her surprise, it has hidden its light away from her. She clasps her hands together instead and closes her eyes for a small prayer.

_May the Sun shines so bright and give its light to the Moon to guide me as I walk through the darkness._

**:::**

The journey from Cheon-il to Wolgwang takes around a week if one chooses to travel on a horse. At most, it takes a fortnight to arrive at the capital.

The envoy he tasked to go to Iljo, Cheon-il to deliver his message has safely arrived and is now coming over to report to the King’s Hall where the newly crowned young king awaits on his throne.

Moon Minhyuk nods his head as he acknowledges the presence of his envoy.

“What is Cheon-il’s response?” he asks, not bothering to beat around the bush.

Minhyuk anticipates for Cheon-il to surrender under them knowing that they have taken damage from the last attack that they have planned. He knew that they would have a hard time recuperating and they had a lot of casualties. They just don’t have enough military power to face Wolgwang now.

He prefers if they surrender peacefully, it will greatly save them resources. _No blood will be spilled and lives will be spared._

“Their King has sought an audience with you, your highness,”

Minhyuk chuckles as he leans back on his throne. _Of course, that man won’t back down without saying something._

Mayhaps, Minhyuk has already expected this. The former King, his father, had told him stories about the King of Cheon-il. _He may seem weak but he won’t back down a fight without assuring the safety of his people._

Minhyuk stands up and ordered the court to prepare for the arrival of Kim Haejin.

_Might as well welcome their enemy in advance to their territory knowing that it’ll be Wolgwang’s win in the end, no matter what._

**:::**

The sun has risen, the streaks of light hitting her face as she huffs, catching her breath. She could feel her sweat rolling down from her forehead down to her chin until it gathered enough liquid to drop down to the ground. The training cloth she’s wearing clings to her small yet toned build like a second skin, not that it bothers her. 

“You’re early,” she looks at a distance from where the voice is coming from. It came out hoarse and rough, “I didn’t see you yesterday when the King of Cheon-il arrived,” Hyejin’s voice echoes in the silence of the morning.

Byulyi stops midway on wrapping her fist with a cloth as she hears Hyejin uttering _foul words_ from her mouth.

Despite seeing blood on a regular basis, especially in a battleground where soldiers clashes swords, Hyejin winces at the sight of blood on the ground, “You’ve just wasted a lot of our dummies,” she says after inspecting Byulyi’s fist then back to the dummies lying on the ground, “You could have called me if you were looking for someone to vent on, you know?”

“I’m looking for someone to spar on not someone to take care of from her hangover,” Byulyi replies after taking a whiff from the young woman.

“The King has asked for your presence,”

“I know,” she replies not bothering to look at Hyejin as she gathers her things to go back to her quarters. She quietly leaves not concerning herself on bidding her friend goodbye.

She stands in front of the hall, letting the guard announce her arrival before entering the room where the King awaits on his throne.

She lowers her eyes even after taking the curtsy bow in front of his highness and waited for what he is about to tell her. _Definitely has something to do with yesterday._ She stiffens as she hears him sigh deeply, still not daring to meet his eyes.

“Look at me,” he commands, and despite hesitating to do the very thing, who is Byulyi to go against his command? She is only his right-hand and he is the King of their nation.

Now that she has taken a good look at his face, he seems delighted now that she’s finally looking at him. The man in front of him who she shares identical features except that he looks rougher whereas Byulyi has soft features adorning her face. Not that it’s a surprise since they share the same blood that is flowing in their veins. Moon Minhyuk, the King of Wolgwang, is Moon Byulyi’s older brother.

Byulyi wonders what her brother really wants to talk about. If it is about Cheon-il, she’s almost certain that they’ll surrender knowing that they have significantly weakened their military power. In addition, their cowardly King will certainly choose to save his own life than die on a losing battle. If it is not, then it is probably going to be why she chose not to show herself yesterday, knowing fully well that the King of Cheon-il sought an audience with him, and as the King’s Hand, her attendance is greatly appreciated— no, more like it is required. Not that Minhyuk needs to question her why when he already knows the answer himself.

“I have something to tell you,” he says after a moment of silence, “As what you have anticipated, Cheon-il has chosen to surrender under our will.”

Byulyi doesn’t follow. If Minhyuk already knows that she has anticipated their surrender then why call for her? _Unless–_

“But before that, we have to adhere to their conditions.”

Byulyi clenches her fist. _The audacity._ Who does _he_ think he is? Wolgwang adhering to their conditions when they aren’t even in their place to do that? _Preposterous._ They are under their mercy. They should have been on their knees asking them to let them live not making conditions.

“Surely you are not–

“And I am contemplating accepting the said conditions.”

She stops. She looks for any sign of a lie on his face yet she saw nothing. _He’s saying the truth._

_Why?_

“I believe that it would also benefit us as much it would benefit them,” he replies, answering her unspoken question, “If we accept Cheon-il’s condition, they will surrender without staining our hands. No war will take place. Lives will be spared on both parties.”

Byulyi nods her head in understanding but still cautious.

“And what are their conditions?”

“First off, if possible, they want to remain the governance under their hands.” Byulyi remains silent to let him continue which Minhyuk is truly grateful to, “Of course, paying their taxes raises no problem from them but they still want to govern their lands.”

“And do you think that’ll pose no problem to us?” she questions, “How will we know that they are not plotting something against us if they still remain in power?”

Minhyuk understands where Byulyi’s worry is coming from and she isn’t wrong to be so against it because the first time Minhyuk listened to it, he too was skeptical. His answer was to outright reject it, however, when he heard the second condition, he changed his mind and actually pondered about it.

“And that brings me to the second condition from Cheon-il,”

“And that is?”

“Moon Byulyi, the Princess of Wolgwang and the loyal King’s Hand, you are to marry the Princess of Cheon-il, Haejin’s only daughter, Kim Yongsun,” the hall reverberates with his commanding voice as he stares straight to her eyes.

Byulyi didn’t move from her place. Her body stills at his command. _Surely, she must have heard him wrong?_ However, Minhyuk’s face is devoid of any emotion. Her heart stops at the realization. _No. No. No._

“Y-your highness, will you kindly repeat what you have just said? I believe that I misunderstood your words,” Byulyi looks at him as calm as possible, intensely praying that she’s wrong. _By the Moon, please let it be–_

“You have heard it right Byulyi. You are going to marry the Princess of Cheon-il, Kim Yongsun.”

“Ha,” she lets out a dry laugh, the last bit of composure she has left on her has dispersed on thin air which says a lot because Byulyi rarely loses composure. _No, no, no._

She stares blankly at her brother– no, the man in front of her. He knows what it means to her yet he is still doing it anyway.

_Marrying the Princess of Cheon-il?_

“I- I believe that I have expressed myself before that I wish not to marry anyone,”

“And that will change from now on,” she whips her head as Minhyuk stands up from his throne.

_No._

“I, Moon Minhyuk, King of Wolgwang, hereby command Moon Byulyi, the loyal King’s Hand, to marry the Princess of Cheon-il, Kim Yongsun.”

Her body subtly shakes in overwhelming emotion. She slowly bends her knee as if it is against her will and presents herself in front of her King, “As you wish, your highness,” she grits, words spilled out from her tongue like it is filled with thorns.

_By the Moon, why have you punished me?_

**:::**

Byulyi hides somewhere only she knows. She is careful not to get followed by anyone– not even Hyejin, before disappearing into the shadows.

She lies down on the grass and gazes at the night sky looking for comfort, however, she could find none. She is still seething in anger as she reels in what happened earlier in the hall. 

How could her brother do this to her?

He knows what she feels about Cheon-il.

That is the very reason why she is not present yesterday to _welcome_ Cheon-il’s entourage. How could she? She could not even stomach to be in the same space as _them._ She could barely hold her sanity, the only thing that stops her from drawing her sword and spilling their blood.

Byulyi does not mind waging war with Cheon-il. The thought of her sword tainted with Cheon-il’s blood makes every fiber of her being burn in exhilaration. It has roused her bloodthirst. The glint of her eyes changes. It has deepened in shade, the same shade she has on every time she slays her enemy.

She has so much bloodthirst towards Cheon-il and her brother knows this.

Yet he is telling her to marry the enemy.

It was more like Minhyuk has judged her death.

_Cruel. He is so cruel to torment her like this._

Byulyi would have preferred to use her sword yet she has no power to do so.

She closes her eyes.

She composes herself, burying her anger, her rage, her bloodthirst– hidden deep into her heart.

Minhyuk is right. She knows that. _Let the enemy fall prey right into their hands._ As long as they have the princess, Cheon-il would not dare go against them. Not when they are holding the life of their precious princess.One wrong move and she’ll die in Byulyi’s hand, tainting it red.

She smiles cruelly.

She opens her hand and reaches out to the moon who has hidden half of its light from the world.

_Do not worry my Moon, you’ll shine bright again._

She gazes at it longingly before taking back her hand and resting it over her stomach.

_Take all the light from the Sun until it shines no more._


	3. New Moon: Part 2

**:::**

Yongsun rests her head on her palm as she looks over outside. The wind is gentle on her skin and blows right through her soft black tresses. The sky is clear and blue and somehow the longer she stares at it, the heavier her eyelids become. The bird resting on the tree branch seems more interesting than her now-forgotten tea. 

She hears someone enter the study and by the way it sounds nimble in her ears, she did not have to turn around to know that it is Wheein. 

“Is the tea not to your liking?” Wheein asks as she notices the tea which seems to remain untouched ever since she stepped out the room to fetch something.

Yongsun then now remembers her tea which has already turned cold as she has been spacing out for the rest of the duration of her break.

“Oh, no. I just had something in my mind that I have forgotten about it,” she tells her sheepishly as she scratches her cheek.

One of the ladies-in-waiting takes the tea and politely exits the room, leaving Yongsun and Wheein in the room.

Wheein chuckles, not blaming her at all for doing so as she eyes the pile of books in front of Yongsun. Books regarding Wolgwang. It is better for Yongsun to be well-equipped with knowledge when she steps foot into the territory of their enemy than remain ignorant. _The first rule of war is to know your enemy._

Wheein notices the bothered look all over Yongsun’s face, “Is there something wrong?”

Her forehead creases in frustration, her brows furrow as she faces a book.

Yongsun reads the last line of the paragraph before closing it and putting it aside.

“I have almost finished reading the books,” she replies.

“That’s good?” Wheein is unsure what Yongsun is worried about. Isn’t it good that she’s almost done? So, why is she bothered?

“I mean, yes, it is good that I’m almost done reading and studying their history but–”

“But?”

“But I still don’t have any idea who I’m going to marry,” Yongsun breathes in frustration, her fingers massaging the temples on her forehead to soothe the incoming headache.

_Not even a glimpse of her face._

As what she had mentioned earlier, Yongsun has almost finished reading the available books found in the Royal Library all about Wolgwang. The topics discussed only touches the surface— only a few topics were discussed extensively. Not that it surprises Yongsun.

What she wants to learn the most is about her supposed to be _wife._

All Yongsun knows is that she is the youngest of the ruling family of Moons and is currently the youngest King’s Hand at the age of 24 which was only 3 years ago. _That means that she is 27 years old right now._ So, Yongsun is a year older than her.

If she became the King’s Hand 3 years ago and Wolgwang has just crowned its new King a year ago then that means that she has served two Kings as the King’s Hand. _Interesting._

Aside from that and the things she has heard from the rumors flying around, Yongsun has nothing.

She has heard the people talk about how Moon Byulyi is a beast in the war zone. She slays enemies left and right without batting an eye nor a shed of mercy in her eyes. She is merciless towards her enemy. No sense of remorse at all. _It does make sense._ She is the King’s Hand after all— the highest rank a Wolgwang soldier can ever attain within his lifetime. It is the most powerful position one can attain apart from the Royal Family. It is reserved only for the best and strongest Wolgwang soldier. Aside from that, being the Hand does not only mean that one possesses only the strength and skills of a warrior but the Hand is also someone who wields intelligence. _For what is brute strength in war without a strategy?_ Someone who has both strength and intelligence is someone to be wary of.

_A King’s Hand, huh._

_For the King won’t ever stain his hand with dirt, he has his Hand at his disposal to do his bidding._

Yongsun is both impressed and terrified by her achievement alone. Yes, she has led their army to victory but that also means that she has slain thousands of her people. _Her people._

‘ _Her hands are painted red for all the bodies she has slain. Tons of blood has seeped into her skin, marking it permanently.’_ she heard from an old man when she sneaked outside. Just thinking about it brings shiver up on her spine.

“I can hear you thinking,” Wheein breaks her thoughts, “and it is so unlike you to judge a book by its cover,” she adds hinting Yongsun that she knows that she has heard rumors surrounding the young Hand.

“I-” Yongsun stammers, embarrassed that Wheein is right. She had no excuse to give her.

“I understand you, unnie,” Wheein gives her an understanding smile, as she always has. “I know that you’re terrified. Who wouldn’t?” Yongsun is thankful to Wheein for consoling her. Her smile somewhat comforts the woes she has at hand. "But it doesn't mean that you'll judge her based on the rumors that you've heard, you know?"

Yongsun sighs and nods her head in agreement. People do tend to exaggerate when it comes to telling tales and stories.

Only now that Yongsun notices the two boxes Wheein has been holding up until now. 

“Open it,” Wheein pushes the box forward to Yongsun, “It arrived just now. It came from a certain Moon Byulyi.”

Yongsun opens the topmost box and sees a folded parchment inside.

_To be honest, I don’t know what appropriate gift I should give for I have never seen nor know you._

_I asked a few of my people and they told me that jewel is something that every woman wants._

_I settled for sapphire as it reminds me of the faraway sea every time I travel. It's both deep and mysterious._

_I have also read that sapphire is believed to bring wisdom and protection._

_I personally designed the necklace I commissioned to one of Wolgwang’s best jewelers._

_May you be guided and protected in your travel._

_Moon Byulyi_

The letter alone somehow relieves Yongsun. Reading the letter, she thinks that Byulyi is a thoughtful person, or at least that is how she perceives the letter to be. 

She looks at the letter again and etched the handwriting of her soon-to-be wife in her mind. It’s neat and none of the strokes hint a hesitation as she wrote it. She has slender strokes and it tells Yongsun that she is selective about the people who she calls a good and close friend.

She takes a good look at the necklace and gasps at its beauty.

_She personally designed this?_

“That’s beautiful,” Wheein breathes as Yongsun held the necklace on her palm.

“It is,” she agrees as she traces the gem at the center formed like a teardrop.

“She designed this?” Wheein asks in astonishment and Yongsun nods still awed at the thoughtful gift.

_Maybe, she is not that horrible at all._

“The Moons honor their marriage. They believe that their spouse is one of the gifts the Moon has bestowed upon them. It is sacred and therefore the Moons would never ever disrespect what the Moon has bestowed upon them,” Wheein tells her as she continues staring at the necklace made by Byulyi.

“Honor instructs them to put their spouse’s needs above all else. They _always_ put their spouse above all else. To them, their spouse is someone to be appreciated and cherished. They’ll protect them at all costs, even with their lives,” Wheein continues as if lost somewhere, “ _For a Moon only loves once,”_ she whispers so quietly that Yongsun almost not have heard her.

“... and do you believe all of it?” Yongsun asks tentatively, noticing the dazed look on Wheein’s eyes.

“I-,” Wheein utters, taken aback by her question, “I just heard it but… but I just do,”

Yongsun is somewhat surprised at Wheein’s answer. She knows her and Wheein never believes something that she has not seen. She never relies on something that she has only heard. Wheein is a very logical person. She always backs up her argument with facts and that is why Yongsun loses to her _almost_ always.

“I see,” Yongsun smiles and trusts her words.

“Do you want me to help you with your necklace?”

“No, not right now,” she declines, “I’ll wear it on the day that I leave,” her voice soft and almost quiet at the reminder that she is about to leave her home— the place she has grown and loved.

She shakes the sad thoughts away and instead puts her attention to the box that is still left unopened.

She places the necklace back to its box and opens the other.

A folded parchment welcomes her again. She picks it up from the box and unfolded it.

_I don’t know if you’ll like the necklace so I prepared another gift for you._

Yongsun gasps as she looks inside the box. She takes it out and marvels at the beauty of the said gift.

_This is a flower that is only seen here in Wolgwang. I believe that it never grows on any other soil other than here and even if it does, it’ll just probably die and wither away before it may even bloom for it can not withstand warm temperatures._

_Moon Byulyi_

It is a jar made out of glass and inside it are flower petals that were dried to last for a few years.

Yongsun smiles.

She looks outside and the sun is already setting to rest for the day.

_May the Sun leave me in good hands._

**:::**

Night falls yet Yongsun still remains in the garden. _Tomorrow._ Tomorrow will be the day that she’ll set her foot outside of her home. The soil outside of Cheon-il and to be honest, it terrifies Yongsun.

She looks at the moon above and hopes that it’ll help relieve the fear she is feeling. Somehow, it did. It is still there, creeping at the edge of her heart— as if waiting for the right chance to sneak up on her when she's at her lowest but the light she basks under the moonlight somehow fights away the fear instilled inside.

The wind blows and chills Yongsun. She rubs her arms to create heat though it barely helped her at all. All of a sudden a coat drops at her shoulder and warms her body instantly. She looks up and sees the familiar grin on Joon’s face.

“I didn’t hear you coming,” she says then looks up at the night sky.

“You must have been so deep in thought for you not to hear me coming,”

“Mayhaps I have,” she admits and gives him a small smile.

“Care to share?”

Yongsun chuckles dryly.

_Who are they kidding?_

Both of them know what is running inside Yongsun’s mind yet Joon pretends as if he doesn’t.

Joon sits beside her, an arm’s length away. 

Silence falls upon them.

Yongsun feels Joon’s finger brushes hers for a second then it lingers at the side. She could feel the warmth from his finger. Slowly and tentatively, Joon covers her hand with his. She smiles at the hesitation yet welcomes his familiar touch— something that they have always done whenever they were alone. It’s harmless and innocent. Just basking at each other’s warmth and feeling each other’s skin.

Joon rubbing her hand with his thumb in small circles calms her. It’s gentle. It’s familiar. She hums a melody that is all too familiar that Joon automatically joins her, his deep voice harmonizing with hers.

The two of them laugh as soon as the song ended. It somehow makes them reminisce of their times together— the adventures they had, the sneak-outs in the forest, the secret horse-riding lessons, Joon teaching her archery, and somehow surpasses him. They smile at the memories and the happy memories then turn melancholic. The times they were together alone— sitting together under the tree on the hill, the innocent interlaced fingers, their warm embraces, their many _almosts._

“Yongsun-ah,” Joon calls out, his voice raspy with emotion.

“Joon,”

“Will you let me be selfish for once?”

She just stares at his eyes and it seems like he was looking for something on hers.

Yongsun doesn’t answer.

“Let’s run away.”

Joon is now clasping both of her hands together with his, eyes hopeful for an answer yet Yongsun’s heart breaks for she has to shatter his hope.

The moon shines upon them, lighting up the darkness.

_The Moon will be the witness of a love that cannot be._

“We can’t Joon,” Yongsun is grateful that she can still find her voice despite her heart breaking for the man in front of her who looks utterly defeated by her answer, “We can’t and you know that,” a tear falls.

Joon wants to ask _why_ but stops because he knows the answer.

And he hates it.

“You know that I am doing this for _us,”_ yet the _us_ that she is speaking of is not her and Joon and _never_ will be, “this is for our people.”

“Please don’t cry,” Joon whispers as he dries Yongsun’s tears, “You know that I hate to see you cry.”

_Yet my tears won’t stop._

The pain of leaving Cheon-il, her home, her people, and _Joon_ hurts Yongsun so much.

The fear of dwelling into the unknown creeps back to her and not even Joon’s comforting words and actions could save her from it.

_But the Moon somehow did._

Yongsun looks at Joon, her hand cupping his cheek. 

Joon leans in and savors the moment of Yongsun holding him close for it might be their last.

They stare at each other's eyes and the atmosphere between them thickens.

Joon locks his eyes on her lips whereas Yongsun etches this memory in her mind as her eyes travel from his eyes then to the slope of his nose until it lands to his lips.

_This will be our last._

Yongsun leans in as to close the gap between them yet…

_The Moon watches over them._

Joon feels her soft lips on his cheeks and even before he could react, Yongsun leans back and stands up.

“This will be our _farewell,_ Joon-ah,”

_Goodbye._

_To our love that could never and will never be._

**:::**

Yongsun stands in front of the palanquin, not daring to turn back for she knows that the moment she does, tears will flow and she can’t let their people see her sad and miserable. At least, when she leaves, she wants them to remember her strong and dignified back not her tear-stricken face.

Wheein and the other ladies-in-waiting have to travel on foot and are supposed to be following her behind together with the soldiers tasked to protect her with their lives. At the back of the procession are the gifts they’ll present to Wolgwang and supplies that are needed in their journey which is also protected by the guards. Leading the procession is the King surrounded by the vanguards together with the general who is ready to protect him. At their sides are soldiers who are riding on their horses, swords at their side. Everyone bears their uniform with dignity, not wearing it just to be identified as someone from Cheon-il but wearing it as if they are bringing Cheon-il with them. Their regalia sitting atop on their robes as an indication of their position and status.

As Yongsun is about to enter her palanquin, she hears a ruckus. She stops, wondering what is it about.

An old woman comes forward holding something on her hands but Joon who is tasked to protect the princess’ palanquin stops the woman.

Joon looks confused as to why the people around him have become silent and have taken a bow to the ground but the moment he feels a hand on his shoulder, he now knows why.

“Ahjumma,” she calls the woman and helps her stand up.

“Princess,” the woman smiles sadly, tears forming in the corner of her eyes, “I thought that you would like to bring this with you,” she gives the container to her, hoping that she’ll take it for the last time, _free of charge._

Yongsun opens the container she gasps as she sees various confections that the woman made for her.

“T-this is,” her voice wavers as the tears that she has been suppressing is threatening to fall at the corner of her eyes, mirroring the old woman. Yongsun could not continue to speak without breaking down in front of them so she tried her best to hold her emotions, “Thank you,” then she swallows the lump on her throat and gives the woman a smile for the last time.

“Have a safe trip, _Yongsun-ah,”_ she whispers quietly that only the two of them could hear it.

Yongsun’s eyes are glassy, her view obscured but her tears are held back with a deep breath, “I will.”

_May the Sun protect you from danger, child._

Yongsun looks at the entirety of her home for one last time before closing her eyes and taking one lungful of air. The air, the smell of the land, the people— Yongsun takes everything in then enters her palanquin.

_Farewell._

She feels them moving at a constant pace and the moment they have stepped foot outside the boundary line, Yongsun breaks down with tears continue trickling down her face accompanied with whimpers as she tries to stop herself from getting loud but nevertheless, everyone has heard her yet they let her be for this will be the last time. _Everyone_ — Haejin, Joon, Wheein, and the people who have joined them feels the same as they silently weep together with their princess. 

**:::**

If she is not on a battlefield, Byulyi is mostly locked inside her study as she works the piled paperwork left on her table. At war, she wields her sword but when she is at her study, she wields her pen. Byulyi is not only a warrior, but she also serves as the King's advisor. 

She reads quietly, looking all over the details again and after she deems it done, her Captain and also a friend for a few years enters her room without the basic courtesy of knocking. 

“Did you hear me say that it is fine for you to welcome yourself in my study?” she asks without bothering to look at Hyejin who invites herself to sit comfortably in front of her.

“You just did,” Hyejin grins leaning on the chair but Byulyi just pretended that she heard nothing as she continues working.

“Not that I am complaining but are you even the same person who vowed that you’ll never get married— more so, marrying someone from Cheon-il?” Hyejin asks pertaining to Byulyi’s thoughtful customary gift for her soon-to-be wife.

Everyone knows that Byulyi holds a grudge against Cheon-il. A grudge that seems to root on an unknown reason– a grudge beyond the feud between the two kingdoms. _At least, that is how it seems to everyone’s eyes except to those people who really know Moon Byulyi._

Hyejin knows the reason behind the seething anger she has on Cheon-il and that is why she was surprised at how thoughtful the gifts were.

One day, Byulyi visits her just to ask her what she should give to her betrothed and she replies that any necklace will do. _‘Women loves it every time I give them trinkets,’_ she shares to Byulyi.

After a thoughtful hum from her friend, Byulyi leaves her without an ounce of gratefulness after helping her nor a goodbye from her. _Typical of her_.

“It is a given that she already has a lot of precious gems in her possession since she is a princess,” Byulyi replies still not giving Hyejin a glance of acknowledgment and instead pours her attention to the documents lying on her table waiting to be finished, “so I thought that designing it will at least make it different it among all others. I don’t want to be lumped together with all those accessories that have no significance or whatsoever,” she reasons out.

“What about the flowers?” Hyejin teases her as is she is pushing and leading her somewhere in which she has no idea about.

Byulyi puts down the document that she is reading and is now looking Hyejin who smirks at her, “There’s nothing special about it, alright? I just-”

“Ah,” now Byulyi finally realizes and Hyejin is now celebrating her small win. Byulyi sighs at how ridiculous Hyejin is acting. _So childish._

“Seriously, you all went over that just to make me acknowledge your presence and face you?” 

“Excuse me?” Hyejin stands up, her hand over her chest as if she was hurt by her words, “Of course, it is a given that you have to acknowledge my presence! How could you just ignore me and not even spare me a look? Like, how can you ignore this face?”

Byulyi rolls her eyes and lets Hyejin have her own play in front of her.

“And she’s back at ignoring me again,” Hyejin says after realizing that Byulyi’s attention is back on the documents piled in front of her, “Seriously, why am I even friends with you?” and Byulyi only hums in the background earning an exasperated sigh on Hyejin.

“You really should loosen up a bit, unnie,” and hearing Hyejin’s gentle voice, Byulyi looks up to her, eyes softening at the younger woman, “Don’t worry about me, I'm fine.”

Hyejin wants to argue that it is exactly what is wrong but knowing that Byulyi would not have it in any other way, she drops the subject. _Next time._

“By the way, it seems that your betrothed has also given you a gift,” she says examining the box that she took from one of Byulyi’s lady-in-waiting.

It seems to get her attention as she notices the way Byulyi’s ears perked up at the mention of her soon-to-be wife yet Byulyi pretends as if she isn’t interested in it.

“I see,” she replies nonchalantly as she turns over the next page of the report.

“You seem to be uninterested,” Hyejin taunts, “should I just keep this for myself?” but Byulyi’s eyes seem to be telling her otherwise. 

“Nevermind, I just changed my mind,” then puts the unopened box on the table.

“Unnie, you should rest. Your wedding is in two days' time,” she reminds her.

“I know,” but it seems that Hyejin’s words have no effect on her as she still continued skimming over the documents. Hyejin sighs at her stubbornness.

“I’ll take my leave now,” she bids her goodbye, Byulyi’s curious eyes on the box in front of her despite making herself busy with work goes unnoticed in Hyejin’s keen eyes.

_Maybe her instinct as a Moon overwhelms and overpowers her hate towards her enemies._

Hyejin smiles to herself and closes the door. She'll see how this one plays out.

**:::**

A fortnight has passed and finally, they have arrived at the capital of Wolgwang where the palace is located. Yongsun expects that they won’t be able to arrive for one more day because they have taken a lot of stops for respite but it seems that they were able to just arrive on time. Just a day before the wedding.

She opens the palanquin a bit to see how the city looks like to quell her curiosity. Seeing it in person is totally different from reading it from books where one can only rely on imagination.

Yongsun is pretty much curious about how different Wolgwang is from Cheon-il. The only thing she knows for sure is that the Three Kingdoms have distinct features from each other. For example, Cheon-il is abundant with its crops and vegetation because of its fertile soil and its location is favorable to the grace of Sun’s light. In terms of agriculture, Cheon-il definitely has what it takes.

With the merchants and traders that came from Byeori, Yongsun has learned that despite being a small kingdom, Byeori has great maritime power for it is surrounded by water. Back then, at the zenith of Byeori's greatness, it used to be the biggest and greatest kingdom among them, however, as Wolgwang's power has come to rise, they've suffered the same fate as Cheon-il and lost their lands. Byeori has the strongest battleship to exist among the Three Kingdoms even now. They are also more advanced when it comes to technology through their diplomatic means from far away islands.

Lastly, Wolgwang is a highly militaristic kingdom. They focus more on their military power and that is why it is no wonder that they have claimed and conquered lands— expanding their territory making it the largest kingdom. Aside from their great offense power, their location makes it even harder for executing any ambushes from their enemies. Unlike Cheon-il, Wolgwang has a lot of mountainous terrains. It makes passage on the road difficult and sometimes impossible if one does not know the ins and outs of Wolgwang and that is why Wolgwang also has great defense making them a really powerful kingdom.

Yongsun sees that the building structures are somewhat similar to the ones back from her home. She observes that they wear thicker clothes which makes sense since they have to bear extremely cold winters and wind which reminds her that all the clothes that she has brought would not suffice in this cold temperature. 

The hustling and rambunctious crowd seems to recognize them as they have quietened down. Yongsun holds her veil to cover her face as she begins to feel uncomfortable at the people’s unwelcoming and scrutinizing gaze that she immediately closed the small gap she has opened earlier.

She has already expected this but still, it hits differently now that she is finally here. She sighs as she remembers their eyes. _Cold and unforgiving._

She could not discern if the shiver she felt came from the cold and unwelcoming atmosphere from the people of Wolgwang or from the wind itself.

She prays that there may come a day where they’ll be able to look at her with warm gazes instead of cold ones. _One day._

Soon after, the procession arrives at the palace.

Servants have welcomed them and immediately accommodated them. It was a tough and long journey and Yongsun is not used to it at all. Her body aches all over and she’s envious at the soldiers who seem to act like it’s nothing. If it is possible, she would like to have her rest now but of course, as per protocol, they have to meet the King and probably the Queen of Wolgwang for pleasantries. 

The urge to scream and roll her eyes is so strong but Yongsun held herself in as to not embarrass them. She looks over her ladies-in-waiting and Wheein who looks like they are about to collapse from exhaustion. Wheein must have noticed her and smiles to show that she’s fine but her worn-out eyes say otherwise and Yongsun now feels guilty for complaining earlier when it is clear that she is in a better condition than most of them.

A woman leads them to the Hall where King Minhyuk and his wife, Queen Mishil awaits. She follows them as she trails behind her father whom she has not spoken to ever since that night except for a curt yes or no answer. Yongsun still does not have the heart to talk to him and he’s clearly giving her space since he takes her curt answers as a sign that she is still not prepared to talk to him.

The woman says something but Yongsun tunes it out, leaving it to her father. 

Finally, they arrived, and soon after, the woman dismissed herself.

Yongsun follows her father, obediently trailing behind him. She lowers her eyes as she notices a man and woman sitting on their respective thrones.

They bow as per decorum and King Minhyuk welcomes them.

It may be because of their journey but Yongsun just seems to be pretty much exhausted. She feels like she’s going to collapse any time soon. She lets them talk as she zones out, her eyes barely open and her mind is close to sleeping. She’s thankful that she has to remain lowering her eyes but it didn’t last long when the Queen suddenly calls for her.

“F-forgive me, your highness. I-” she stutters in front of them.

Her cheeks redden in embarrassment but she hears Queen Mishil giggle, “It’s alright. I understand that you are exhausted after traveling,” she says and the tips of Yongsun’s ears mirror the color of her cheeks. _This is so embarrassing._ For the Queen to catch her like that.

“Your highness, how about we let Princess Yongsun take a rest? She still has to prepare for her wedding tomorrow so it is best to let her go,” Queen Mishil asks King Minhyuk who has a tender look on his face as his wife talks to him.

“Of course,”

She leaves the Hall and the same woman from earlier is now leading her to her quarters. Yongsun wonders how far it is because they have been walking for quite a while now or maybe she is just being impatient.

The woman may have noticed her and gives her an apologetic smile, “Forgive me, your highness. But it is the protocol to have you stay at the western quarters,”

“It is because Princess Byulyi resides at the eastern quarters,” the woman adds as she sees Yongsun’s still confused face.

Yongsun tries to connect the dots but what does it have to do about where the Princess resides?

“It is a custom here in Wolgwang to have the soon-to-be spouses to be separated the night before their wedding. We believe that it’ll be bad luck if the two accidentally meet each other and that is why to prevent that, we separate them and have them stay at the furthermost quarters,” the woman kindly explains to her in which Yongsun is thankful for. She’s happy to see someone with a friendly face— totally different from what she remembers earlier. She hopes that she’ll meet more of them.

“Thank you for being kind,”

It seems that the woman is taken aback by what she had said and stutters, “N-no, your highness. I-”

“It’s just that when I arrived here earlier, the people were cold and unwelcoming that is why I expected the same here but you proved me wrong. Thank you for that,” Yongsun honestly tells her.

The woman nods in silence and Yongsun follows her.

She smiles when she can finally see it. 

“Your ladies-in-waiting are already there, your highness. If you need anything else do not hesitate to call for me,” before the woman could go, Yongsun stops her by reaching for her wrist.

“May I know your name?”

And it is the second time that woman is taken aback by her.

“I- uh, my name is Ahreum, your highness,”

“Ahreum,” Yongsun whispers, “that is a beautiful name. Thank you so much, Ahreum.”

Ahreum smiles warmly, “Your welcome, your highness.”

She almost tears up in happiness when Wheein welcomed her with a hot bath waiting for her.

_The wedding is tomorrow._

Yongsun sinks deeper into the bath until half of her face is submerged into the water. The warm water soothing her aching muscles and Yongsun could not help herself but moan at the feeling. Wheein waits patiently at her side and after a few minutes, Yongsun finally removes herself from the bath and lets Wheein cover her body to prevent her from getting a cold.

“Will it be alright tomorrow?” she asks Wheein who is drying her hair.

“It will be,”

Yongsun stares at the mirror in front of her— exhaustion is painted all over her face.

She worries about what tomorrow will bring. She is nervous and she could not stop fiddling with her fingers. 

“I’m scared,” she confesses and Wheein tightens her hold on her brush.

Seeing Yongsun so raw and honest making her so vulnerable makes Wheein want to protect and comfort her. She soothingly plays with her hair and the moment Yongsun leans on her touch, “It’s alright to be scared, unnie. You just have to remember that _we_ are with you.”

If they hurt Yongsun, Wheein would not hesitate to risk her life and she is sure that everyone in Cheon-il will also do the same.

Wheein feels Yongsun touches her hand that is resting on her shoulder, “Thank you, Wheein-ah,”

“All for you, Yongsun-unnie,”

The lights are turned off and Wheein finally leaves Yongsun’s room.

Yongsun is still worried about tomorrow but fatigue overcomes her mind and body that it didn’t take long for her to enter a slumber.


	4. New Moon: Part 3

**:::**

Yongsun finds herself in front of the mirror as her ladies-in-waiting fuss over her ceremonial robe. The last-minute adjustments have to be made when Yongsun seems to have lost weight throughout their journey. She's apologetic that her ladies-in-waiting have to make haste for the needed adjustments just to keep up with the schedule. Everything seems to be so hectic but Wheein assures her not to worry about a thing.

"We got everything covered, unnie. Don't worry about anything else."

The wedding is scheduled to take place before the sun sets.

It has always been done during the day, however, Wolgwang does it in the evening where the moon could witness the union. Due to their differences, the two kingdoms agreed to meet halfway and compromised to do it before the sun sets.

Yongsun is grateful that Wolgwang has allowed them to also do their marriage ritual instead of just doing theirs. At the very least, they have respected their wishes to also practice Cheon-il's ritual.

Every little thing matters to her, especially now. It helps remind herself that she always has a part of Cheon-il that will never be taken away from her. Her roots will always be in Cheon-il and she will do everything in her power not to lose herself even if she won't be able to step back on her birthland's soil. She shakes the bitter thought of not being able to step back to Cheon-il away.

It is supposed to be her wedding. It is supposed to be a merry event of her life. But now that Yongsun is here, the feeling is nowhere near that. In a few moments, she will now be tied into a loveless marriage. 

She sighs.

She doesn't need more negativity today.

"I'll wear my sapphire necklace today," she interrupts the young woman helping her with her accessory who is about to put on her favorite gold necklace.

A loveless marriage indeed, but still Yongsun is bound to do her part as Byulyi's wife.

"As you wish, your highness," the woman replies and exchanges the gold for the sapphire one.

"Thank you," she says before the woman exits after helping her with her necklace.

Yongsun checks herself in front of the mirror, the sapphire necklace seems to have found its place— successfully stealing her attention.

The sun is almost about to set and she knows that the wedding is about to take place any time now.

She closes her eyes and tries to calm her breath. She closes and opens her hands to relieve the tension inside her. She swallows the nausea that she feels rising in her throat and forces herself to stand still as she stares at her reflection on the mirror.

"-nnie, Yongsun-unnie!" Wheein abruptly shakes her from her thoughts. 

"W-Wheein?" she whispers, confused at Wheein's worried face.

"I've been calling you for a while now but you didn't answer," Wheein explains.

Yongsun opens her mouth only to close it, "I- I'm sorry. I," her voice wavers and her breath starts to quicken. Anxiety creeps up on her making her incapable of thinking straight. 

Wheein immediately notices how Yongsun has gone pale, her breath short and quick. _She's hyperventilating._ Wheein is quick to her feet yet she still remains calm. She knows that it is important to stay calm when things like this happen.

"Unnie, let's try working on slowing your breathing, okay?" she calmly instructs. She almost hisses off at the pain the way Yongsun's vice-like grip on her wrist— nails start to bite into Wheein's flesh, almost drawing blood against her skin.

"I can't," Yongsun stammers, her voice close to crying.

"It's fine, you can do it, okay?" she assures her, "Focus on my voice, unnie,"

Wheein instructs Yongsun on what to do. _Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out._ Her voice is both soothing and calm which tremendously helped Yongsun out.

Despite the difficulty, Yongsun obediently follows Wheein's voice. She repeats it until her rapid breathing turns normal. 

Yongsun holds on to her arms and regains her balance as the sweat that formed on her forehead has trickled down and has made its way at the side of her face.

"Are you alright, now?" Wheein asks when Yongsun's breathing is back to normal. She sighs in relief when Yongsun nods her head and gave her a half-smile, the cloudiness in her eyes before has now faded away.

Relief washes over her body as she sways into Wheein's arms that provide her support, security and warmth.

"Thank you, Wheein-ah." Yongsun could barely form a coherent sentence to answer Wheein. She sighs thinking that she has to save all of her remaining energy at the ceremony; she knows that it would take all of her strength not to break down in front of everyone— a mistake that she could not afford to do. 

Despite her smile, Wheein could not help but still worry for her. She clasps both Yongsun's hands and gives it a squeeze, "I am right behind you, okay?" she says with a hopeful smile, wishing that the gesture and thought alone would at least comfort her.

"I know you will be," Yongsun replies and squeezes her hand back, "Thank you as always, Wheein-ah."

Yongsun swears that she wouldn't be able to get this far without Wheein's constant support. She may always nag at her for being so reckless and doing things without thinking but in the end, Wheein will always be at her side.

Yongsun looks outside.

The sun is setting. _It's time._

Wheein finally sets the veil to cover Yongsun's face.

"Are you ready?"

She prays the veil would hide her anxiety from any that will look on her.

Though heavy, the veil that has covered her face still allows Yongsun to see the faint traces of Wheein's comforting smile. Wheein has given her enough strength to get through this.

"Let's go."

**:::**

The matrimonial ceremony should have already taken place minutes ago but it seems that her betrothed is running late.

To be honest, it irks Byulyi that the ceremony has been delayed. They agreed to do it before the sun sets to give respect to Cheon-il's ritual rites. They have already given Cheon-il much leeway yet they still managed to arrived late at the wedding.

She sees Hyejin at the corner of her eyes who looks at her in disapprovingly. Her face must have given away that she is pretty much annoyed. 

Byulyi sighs in defeat and nods at her way. She eases up her furrowed brows and loosened up her tense shoulders.

She'll try to be understanding.

Byulyi is wearing her blue uniform, on her head is her band where Wolgwang's silver emblem sits comfortably. On her chest is where her status symbol sits— the King's Hand.

The crowd went quiet when a man announced the presence of her betrothed.

The first thing she notices is the golden ceremonial robe befitting of a child of the Sun. She walks with regal dignity that _slightly_ impresses Byulyi. Despite being in their enemy's territory, her betrothed still manages to walk with grace and not cower in fear. There was no air of arrogance around her but just pure confidence and somehow it draws Byulyi to her. She likes it when someone carries herself with confidence, letting everyone know that she knows her worth and isn't desperate to please everyone. 

She seems satisfied now that she sees the gift she has given sitting on her betrothed's chest. She didn't design it for her just to be tossed aside.

Her black hair flows freely at the back and Byulyi raises her brow after realizing that her face is hidden behind the veil.

She breathes out and tells herself to be patient and appears to be indifferent.

It is a lie if Byulyi were to say that she is not a bit curious about how her wife looks like. She has heard that she is too horrendous to look at that she always has to wear a veil to cover her face. Another was that the Sun has bestowed her divine beauty and because of that, she has to cover her face for eternity to not cause chaos and envy in this world. _Seems pretty exaggerated._

The rites immediately started the moment Yongsun arrived by her side. 

Byulyi didn't really pay attention to the shaman and instead tunes in the woman beside her whose face is still hidden behind her veil.

The rites seem to be almost done as the shaman gestures to both of them to take the thick branch of a zelkova tree.

The Royal Family of Cheon-il has used the same branch for eons. They use it to light up a fire and complete the ceremony. They believe that the guardian of the sacred tree has given two of its branches to their people as a gift to give them what they wish for. The Royal Family then has used it to bless their marriage.

A woman who looks younger than Byulyi steps forward and carefully removes the veil that is hiding her betrothed's face.

Byulyi swears that she could hear everyone gasps in astonishment. _Maybe they weren't kidding when they said that the Sun has bestowed her divine beauty._ She has the deepest chocolate brown eyes that almost borders the color of the darkest night sky. She notices the beauty mark below her eyebrow on the right which mirrors Byulyi's mark on her left.

It feels like it has been an eternity but in reality, only a second has passed.

The guests crane their necks to take a better look at the beauty in front of them.

_Do they really need to ogle at her like that?_

Byulyi purses her lip and ultimately clears her throat in annoyance, loud enough to pull everyone back from bewitchment. 

"Light up the branch with the burning fire and have the Sun bless the unity between Kim Yongsun and Moon Byulyi," the shaman instructs.

A man from Cheon-il passes one of the two branches to Byulyi. _Heavy._ She subtly looks behind her and seems like the princess almost swayed at the heaviness of the branch. It's not that Byulyi is worried about her but she did tune in Yongsun's steps in case she loses her balance.

She marches forward to light up her branch in front of the fire. She clenches her teeth when her branch didn't light up. She turns behind her and saw that Yongsun is facing the same problem as hers.

_Is this a sign that the Sun wouldn't bless them?_

She is about to turn away when suddenly, their eyes met.

At that moment, she could almost swear that she saw a flicker of gold in Yongsun's eyes but it was gone faster than she could ever blink. Yongsun's expression mirrors her but before she could say something, the man urges her to light up the branch before the sun sets.

This time, she succeeded in lighting it up. The fire is stronger and bigger. It looks like it is alive. Byulyi is careful handling the branch and at the same time looking out for Yongsun who is now near to the opposite side of the circle.

The shaman then instructs both of them to follow the line and drag the branch on the ground to light it up then meet at the center. Byulyi now knows why they needed a considerable amount of space for their ceremony. They are literally going inside the fire that they have made.

Byulyi starts to sweat as the heat from the fire closes into her. Finally, the two of them meet at the center, their branches still on fire and almost twice as big before. 

As when the sun is about to set, the shaman instructs them to raise their hands and combine their fire into one. 

_"The Sun has bestowed its blessings upon you. May your fire never extinguish and instead become stronger and bigger than what it is today. May the Sun continue shining upon you and may your light never waver."_

Byulyi never fares well with heat. She has always been accustomed to the cold. So, when they finally completed Cheon-il's matrimonial ceremony, she sighs in relief as they have finally put out the fire on their branch as well as the fire circle which the have lighted earlier. But despite the fire gone, Byulyi could still feel the heat thrumming under her skin. It still burns. The fire is alive. It's burning inside her.

She closes her eyes for a moment before opens it and gazed at the sky.

The sun has set and the fullness of the moon is now upon them.

**:::**

Yongsun swears the moment their eyes met each other, she saw flickers of gold in Byulyi's eyes, however, a voice pulls her out of the moment as he asked her to finish lighting the branch.

When they were caged in the circle of fire, she finally sees her up close— no veil to obstruct her view on the handsome woman in front of her. The flicker of gold in her irises earlier was gone and only Byulyi's intense dark eyes bore into hers. She could not meet her eyes for so long but Yongsun swears she's the most beautiful person she has ever met. _She's truly a child of the Moon for she has the glow akin of the mysterious ball of light at night._ She actually expected Byulyi to look rough in the edges since being in the military toughens up everyone, however, her appearance is actually the opposite of what Yongsun had initially thought. Byulyi looks unassuming— her features are soft and gentle. She doesn't radiate an air of pretentiousness which Yongsun has always seen from the officials she has met who seems to possess just to assert their power and influence. 

Yongsun's imagination of her pales in comparison now that Byulyi is right in front of her.

Despite the fire, Yongsun could smell a hint of wood and a whiff of cool mint on Byulyi. It actually smells nice on her. Somehow, the earthy and cool scent on her tells Yongsun that Byulyi is a tenacious person.

Before the ritual ends, Yongsun gives Byulyi one last look— the woman who she is meant to be to settle the dispute between the two countries.

The sun has set and night finally looms.

The full moon is in bloom and the stars glimmer on the night sky.

Cheon-il's matrimonial rites have just finished and now, it is time for Wolgwang to finally seal their fate.

The shaman continues his chant whereas Yongsun subtly glances at her side. The deep color of the sea suits her. The way the cloth hugs every curve of her body, Yongsun could see that despite her soft features, she's actually toned and fit. 

"Dip both of your hands to the basin in front of you," he says.

In front of them is a still clear water. Yongsun could even make out her reflection on the water.

She has read back then from one of the books she has gathered that the Moons have this sacred well hidden in their land where the light of the moon directly shines upon it. It is said to contain an ethereal power from the Moon itself.

The still and cold water in the well perfectly reflects the image of the moon. It is always there as the Moon watches over them. The well is a loyal companion of the Moon. The well was its witness for the dark and light moments of its phases. 

"As the divine water of the Moon seeps into your skin, you shall receive its gift," the shaman says, "The Moon will now bind your souls into one."

Byulyi, without any second thoughts, dips her hand into the water and waits for Yongsun to do so. 

She looks at Byulyi who seems to be encouraging her to do the same. Yongsun tentatively touches the water and almost hisses at the icy feeling on her skin. It feels like the water is prickling sharp ice needles to her skin until she feels it going numb from the sudden drop of temperature.

_It's cold._

Byulyi notices how Yongsun has gone rigid after dipping her hand next to hers. She supposes that she is not used to such coldness. She might have seen her shiver and almost chuckles in front of the shaman who has continued doing his chants, calling upon the Moon and asking for its blessings.

Byulyi has no choice but to hold Yongsun's hand with hers. In that way, she could at least withstand the cold. She didn't meet Yongsun's curious eyes and instead focuses on the shaman.

Yongsun stares at their joined hands. _The hand of the woman who has killed my people. A beast!_

Yongsun shakes her head. As advised by Wheein, she tries to ignore the tales flying around her wife which has created a vicious reputation under her name.

The ripples they have created on the basin when they dipped their hands together have now ceased and the reflection of the moon is now clear.

"The sacred gift of the Moon is now in your hands," he tells Byulyi and gestures for her to continue.

Byulyi takes both of their hands out of the water.

Yongsun still doesn't know what is happening and is only looking at her with questioning and expectant eyes.

Byulyi adeptly takes out the dagger she's hiding and unsheathes it.

Seeing the dagger, Cheon-il's soldiers were about to draw their swords out but King Minhyuk stopped them saying that all of this is part of the ceremony. 

"Trust me," Byulyi whispers, and Yongsun could only nod, staring right through her eyes despite the uncertainness in her eyes.

Byulyi lightly slices the skin on her thumb, just enough for her to draw blood. She sees Yongsun winces. She doesn't know if it is because of the dagger or at the sight of the blood trickling on her arms— or maybe both. She feels sorry that she has to see this but she has to get used to it. Byulyi's a warrior at heart. Blood and sword are constant every time she goes out of the palace. She just hopes that Yongsun will be able to stomach it soon.

Before she proceeds to her vow— something that Byulyi didn't expect to happen for she promised herself not to marry in this lifetime, she seems conflicted to continue.

She looks at Yongsun and her unknowing eyes.

She has her reason for loathing Cheon-il. The bloodthirst she has seems to be growing every time she sees _one of them_ —just like what happened earlier. Especially when she saw their King. Byulyi could only see red. It's all thanks to her brother who stopped her before she wrecks the place up and taints the ground with blood. However, as a Moon, it runs into their blood to protect their spouse, no matter what. Everything may come crashing down but a Moon never ever turns their back to their spouse.

She vowed that she'll kill every people from Cheon-il who has done her wrong but at the same time, she is marrying the very person who is connected to _that_ man.

A dilemma.

_If things have to come to worst, I have no choice but to break my oath to the Moon._

"I, Moon Byulyi, Princess of Wolgwang and the King's loyal right hand, will promise to honor this marriage for the Moon has bestowed you to be my mate. I will forever honor and cherish you. In the name of the Moons, I will protect you with all my life... _for a Moon only loves once_ ," Byulyi draws the moon on Yongsun's forehead with her blood as a sign of her promise.

Yongsun closes her eyes as she feels Byulyi's thumb trails down to her lips and is now hovering over it.

She slowly opens her eyes and sees how close Byulyi is to her face.

Somehow as the full moon shines upon them, Yongsun could feel the pull of its power. It's subtle but it's definitely there. It seems that Byulyi is also thinking the same thing as she sees the struggle on her eyes. Yongsun could see that Byulyi is trying to restrain herself from its pull but the moment she lay her eyes on Yongsun's soft and supple lips, she knew that she has lost.

Her breath shakes as she leans in, her thumb tracing Yongsun's parted lips. It doesn't help that Yongsun is looking at her with half-lidded eyes.

The pull of the Moon is so strong and the fire earlier still burns through her veins.

Everyone held their breath and the moment they see Byulyi seals her lips on the Princess, they clapped and congratulated both the newly-weds.

**:::**

The festivities continue at night as they prepared a huge feast. A large fire has been lit at the center to provide both light and warmth to the people.

Yongsun feels like she is in a daze. It seems like things have gone so fast and now she finds herself sitting together with King Minhyuk and his wife, Queen Mishil, and also her father as they talked. 

She hasn't touched her food ever since she took her first bite. Not that it was not delicious because it was. It is just that Yongsun doesn't have the appetite to swallow the food in front of her. Byulyi seems to be the same who is beside her, looking at the performance in front of her.

She didn't seem to be in it, unlike the people around them. Even Wheein seems fascinated at the performance. 

The glow of the fire on Byulyi's face emphasizes the features of her face that Yongsun missed before. She now notices that her eyelashes are long and thick creating a beautiful silhouette. The slope of her nose seems like it was sculpted to perfection by the heavenly gods. Her parted lips— forming an adorable triangle shape takes Yongsun's attention.

She has to clap at Byulyi's flawless act earlier. She has fooled everyone into thinking that they have kissed.

Yongsun was taken-aback earlier when Byulyi suddenly leans close to her, invading her space, then her thumb hovering over her lips. _She's close. Too close._ Byulyi's woodsy scent has intoxicated her as comes close to her. _She smells so good._

With half-lidded eyes, Yongsun looks up and down, mirroring Byulyi's eyes. Her breath hitched then Byulyi took the chance to close the gap between them and pressed her lips to her thumb which is just over Yongsun's lips. _Close! She's dangerously close!_ The only thing that is between them is Byulyi's thumb which is hidden at everyone's view.

Yongsun was stuck on the ground, her lips parted in disbelief and Byulyi just smirked at her way.

She could not believe that just happened!

Yongsun reaches to her lips, recalling what transpired earlier. She feels dizzy all of a sudden.

"Are you alright?" she hears the familiar timbre of his voice.

Joon must have noticed her flushed face and thought that she is sick.

"I'm fine," she gives him a tight-lipped smile.

It's the first time they had talked ever since that night in the garden.

"You don't have to worry, _Captain_ ," Yongsun doesn't want to but she has to draw a line between them.

"I see," he replies curtly, "I'll return to my post now, _your highness,"_ then he went further behind her where he was initially posted.

She breathes out, hoping that no one notices her pained expression that flashed briefly on her face.

_Joon._

Byulyi abruptly stands at her side which surprised Yongsun. She didn't spare her any glance and just went down below. _What's wrong with her?_

"It's time!" King Minhyuk announces and everyone seems to look forward at the stage where Byulyi is. _What is happening?_

Queen Mishil seems to notice her confused face and answers her question, "Just watch and enjoy the performance," and Yongsun follows her eyes at the stage where Byulyi wields two swords at both hands.

She confidently takes her step towards the center and raises both swords with ease. She starts the sword dance and Yongsun looks at her in awe at how light and nimble she is with her every move.

The beat starts to thrum and the other dancers wearing white enters the stage and started to surround Byulyi. They circled around her, preying at her and waiting for the right time to attack. The beat changes then one of the dancers start to attack yet Byulyi is able to dodge it with ease. When that didn't go as the enemies have planned, they started to simultaneously attack her. Their swords clashed, Yongsun could clearly hear it as the sound rang into the entirety of the palace grounds.

Byulyi defends herself successfully and proceeds to attack her enemies. One by one, they dropped to the ground until only one remains standing at the center of the stage.

The dance ended as Byulyi backflips and the drummer accompanied it with a beat.

Everyone clapped at the performance.

Yongsun also finds herself clapping.

Byulyi bows together with the dancers and takes a lungful of air, staring right at _Yongsun?_

Yongsun stops. The intensity in Byulyi's eyes was different. It may be because of the light of the moon but it just seems different. She could not find the appropriate word for it but somehow it's close to anger.

Byulyi returns to her seat beside her.

She didn't even break any sweat.

"You were exquisite," Yongsun says to her even before her brain could realize what she has done, "I- I mean your performance!" she stammers but the smirk on Byulyi's lips were already there but she didn't say anything in return in which Yongsun is grateful for. She doesn't want to embarrass herself more than this.

"Yongsun, can we hear you sing? King Haejin mentioned that you possess an incredible voice! I would love to hear it!" Queen Mishil says as she looks at Yongsun with expectant eyes.

_She could not refuse her, could she?_

Her father looks at her, apologetic. He thought that he has inconvenienced her once again.

Yongsun subtly shakes her head and Haejin sighs in relief, happy that he hasn't done anything wrong to his daughter.

Despite not having to prepare anything, Yongsun stands up and Queen Mishil claps in excitement as she goes down to the platform where Byulyi was.

Everyone tones down their voices until there was silence. She looks around and some of the familiar faces around seem to cheer on her and it actually boosted Yongsun's confidence. No accompaniment was needed. Her voice alone is able to move even the mountains and open the gates of heaven.

It's a song that is so dear to Yongsun. A song that she has composed and written when she was just but a young adolescent who has just found how the world actually looks like without any filters.

She looks at Byulyi first, hoping that she'll be able to recognize the song. Because the song that she is going to sing is the same song that she has given to her as a gift in the form of a music box. She'll definitely recognize it if she had opened it.

_The blue ocean that the red sun_

_Used to wash its face turns Oh Oh black_

_The white sky that had clouds and_

_Rain and the wind turns gray_

_I leave the darkness that finds my heart_

_Even the cold shadow that covers the night starts to harden_

Yongsun closes her eyes, remembering the first time she had seen the casualty of war. _Bodies. Lots of bloodied bodies. Some have lost their limbs, some are not even moving nor breathing._ Yongsun remembers crying that day. She realized that the world also has its days where it turns gray.

_If the ice melts_

_A warmer song would have come out_

_But why is the ice so cold?_

_Why is it so cold?_

She smiles sadly. No matter how many times she has sung this song, it never fails to stir the emotions inside her.

_The blue ocean that the red sun used to wash its face_

_I look at the past warmth that is deeply buried_

_I wish the cold in the world of adults would be gone too_

_I wish the frozen love will melt away now_

_I leave the darkness that finds my heart_

_Even the cold shadow that covers the night starts to harden_

If only the people were warmer, would the world be better too?

_If the ice melts_

_A warmer song would have come out_

_But why is the ice so cold?_

_Why is it so cold?_

_If the ice melts_

_A warmer song would have come out_

_But why is the ice so cold?_

_Why is it so cold?_

The song ends and everyone was quiet before a reverberating clap was heard. Listening to the song has reached the hearts of the people around. She may have seen some who have cried but quickly dried their tears away.

She immediately looks for Byulyi but the moment she looks up above, she wasn't there. She didn't let her face fall at the disappointment, instead, she smiled and bowed before thanking everyone. 

She instinctively closes her eyes when a strong breeze of wind pass by her. 

She looks at the moon, questioning it.

_Why is it so cold?_

**:::**

Byulyi arrives at her room with no one in sight, however, she could see that her wife's belongings are already placed neatly there. 

She turns around when she heard someone coming in.

"I didn't ask for tea though?" she asks the woman who bowed before her. She eyes her cautiously as she pours tea on Byulyi's cup.

"What is it?"

"The King asked us to prepare tea for you, your highness," the woman answers after pouring the tea.

_Minhyuk?_

She sighs not expecting an explanation to follow through and instead asked for her wife who still hasn't arrived even when the feast has ended already.

"The Head Lady is assisting her as of the moment, your highness,"

Byulyi takes a whiff on the tea.

_This is..._

Her grip tightens around the cup now that she is aware of its contents. The woman is not doing a good job at being subtle at all. She could feel her eyes on hers. 

Byulyi takes the tea and lets it hover on her lips. She hides a smile behind the cup as she notices the woman waiting for her to drink it. The look of dismay was all over her face when Byulyi decided to tease her and instead put the cup back on the table.

"Would you be so kind as to check the ventilation inside my quarters? I'm afraid the air is stale and my wife is about to arrive soon," she asks her.

She sees the hesitation in her eyes but in the end, she complies.

The moment she exits the room, Byulyi pours out all of the cup's contents into a nearby plant. 

The woman came back shortly. Byulyi didn't forget to thank her for her service, collecting the now empty cup back to its tray and exits the room leaving her all alone.

She goes back to her room and finds it open, letting the cool breeze enter. 

She looks at the moon at its full glory. The pond outside her room reflects the fullness of the moon. There's a sense of ecstasy the longer Byulyi stares at the moon. The energy just seems... _different?_ The burning feeling Byulyi felt earlier returned and it has even become stronger. She could definitely a shift in the atmosphere. Her senses seem to be heightened. 

There's a fire thrumming under her skin and it's bothering Byulyi. It's making her feel hot.

Before she knew it, she has already loosened her outer clothes as she feels herself sweating— a lot. _It's hot._

She closes the door immediately but she still feels hot all over her body. The longer she is under the moonlight, the hotter she becomes.

Even before Yongsun could enter the room, Byulyi already anticipates her entrance.

Her sense of hearing has amplified so she could hear her steps outside albeit her steps are quiet. She just could pick her wife's steps among others.

"I-I'm sorry! I'll just be b-"

Byulyi clears her throat and immediately tightens her outerwear.

"It's fine. I... uh, I just felt hot but I'm fine now,"

Byulyi sees the Head Lady's eyes on hers before they bid themselves goodbye and left the two of them inside Byulyi's— no, it's _their_ quarter now.

_What is mine is also hers now._

Byulyi just feels so stuffy right now.

"Where were you before you arrived here?" she asks Yongsun who seems to be feeling out of place as she stands at the center of the room. Byulyi gestures for her to sit down on one of the chairs.

"The Head Lady offered me tea," Byulyi tenses up, "I thought that it was part of Wolgwang's customs and practices so I took it,"

"You drank it?" 

_Please tell me you didn't._

She sees the hesitation in Yongsun's eyes but tells her that it's fine.

"No offense but the moment I took a whiff of the tea, there's a subtle smell that I could not ignore so I poured it into a nearby plant when the Head Lady wasn't looking," she replies in a small voice hoping not to offend Byulyi. 

Byulyi sighs in relief. _Smart._

_And quite observant too._

To any untrained nose, no odor of the powder can be smelled. It works perfectly if one needs to be covert. _However, for her to notice..._

"None is taken,"

Her ears perk up when she hears a faint rustling outside.

Byulyi closes her eyes as she pinches the bridge of her nose. She looks at Yongsun who looks clueless at what is happening and is just looking at her expectantly. She sighs in defeat.

_I don't want to do this... but it seems that I have to or else they won't leave us until they are satisfied._

She closes in on her until Yongsun is trapped between the chair and her arms. She could see how flustered she is at Byulyi's sudden invasion of space but she has to so that only the two of them can hear their conversation.

"The walls have ears," she whispers right into Yongsun's ears. She feels her shiver under her.

Yongsun nods in understanding and accommodates Byulyi in her space.

_She smells like vanilla and warm sugar. It's so swee-_

Byulyi shakes her thoughts aside.

"The tea has aphrodisiac," Yongsun gasps at what she has said, "A strong one, I believe," she adds, recalling the smell.

"I don't know if you know this but Wolgwang believes that consummating one's marriage on their first night brings prosperity and good luck. Our wedding even fell into a full moon where the pull of the moon is the strong..est," then everything clicked to Byulyi. 

She recalls her brother saying that no one can go against the pull of the moon. Once you have fallen under its spell, there is no turning back. It is even extremely harder if you are a Moon.

"Are you alright? You're sweating a lot," she hears her whisper.

Byulyi feels the hair on the back of her neck stood up the moment she felt Yongsun's breath fanning over her warm skin. It's soft and gentle but it still sent a shiver down to her spine.

Byulyi feels the need to rip something. She grips the chair instead. Her knuckles turning white at how hard she is gripping it. 

It seems that she has to get a new once, she thought, after checking the damage she has done on the poor chair.

She could feel so much energy inside her and she has to somehow release it or else.

_Her wife smells so good._

All of her senses are stimulated by the full moon.

She needs to control it or else she'll do something that she'll regret by tomorrow.

"I'm fine," she breathes out, "I'm fine," it's more like she's reassuring herself instead of Yongsun.

_Mate! Mate! Mate!_ her mind yells at her.

It's so loud. It's pounding inside her head.

The sudden spike of desire attacks her.

_She might have not taken any drip of the aphrodisiac but the pull of the moon... It's strong! Too strong!_

Their close proximity is making her feel dizzy. She feels light-headed. The desire to mark her under the full moon is gnawing Byulyi's instincts.

"Don't worry, I won't do something that is against your will," she manages to rasp out despite the difficulty of tearing herself away from Yongsun. 

She feels her knees almost buckling under her weight. 

She sees the relief washing over Yongsun's face.

"But what will happen if they find out that w-we, you know?" Yongsun asks her, flustered by her own question.

"They won't," and Byulyi gathers her strength to walk away from her.

_No! No! Go back!_

She grasps the corner of the bed linen and takes the dagger she used before and slides it off of its sheath. 

"W-wait!" distressed at what is about to happen, Yongsun runs over to stop her, holding her wrist to prevent her from cutting herself again.

"What are you going to do?" Byulyi hisses the moment Yongsun touches her skin. 

Seeing Byulyi's reaction, Yongsun hesitantly lets her go. Taking in her labored breath and the cold beads of sweat on her forehead, she knows that something is wrong and Byulyi is fighting it.

"Do you want the people to talk?" 

Yongsun stops at the question.

"I-"

The hesitation in her voice is enough for Byulyi to proceed.

She ignores Yongsun's gasp as she sliced a small cut at the edge of her palm. She splatters the blood all over the sheet as she makes a fist and then tossed it on the floor.

"Now, no one will question our relationship," Byulyi tells her, "You are now my wife and I vowed to honor our marriage. That vow also entails that I will also protect your honor."

Byulyi's ears perk up again as she hears a noise from far away. Yongsun wouldn't be able to hear it but she can. It's not audible to the ears of mere humans. It's all thanks to the Moon for her heightened senses.

_Too bad that the gift you have given me will foil your plans._

Yongsun lets out a yelp as Byulyi pulls her wrist and gently throw her on the bed. 

"W-what are y-you doing?" her voice shakes as Byulyi slowly crawls up to her until she is hovering on her body.

The gap between them is decreasing so fast.

"There are people outside," Byulyi whispers on her ears.

They are so close. Their heaving chests touch occasionally and it brings shivers to her body. Her breath has become short and shallow. It doesn't help that Byulyi has a pretty deep and melodious voice that sounds so sweet on her ears. Byulyi turns her head— her lashes touching Yongsun's skin.

"They are listening," Byulyi adds, "It's not my intention to make you uncomfortable,"

Yongsun wants to scoff at the absurdity of her words but she understands. _Somehow._

Yeah, their bodies are so close to each other that both of them could feel each other's beating heart is definitely uncomfortable but Yongsun understands the situation that they are in.

She has never been this close— so intimate with someone. Not even Joon.

It feels so dangerous.

"I apologize,"

"I understand. It's not your fault," Yongsun replies as she can hear the sincerity in her voice.

"Don't worry, I won't do something that is against your will," the moment Byulyi's lips graze the shell of her ear, Yongsun involuntarily lets out an unfamiliar noise— something that she didn't know that she is capable to.

"I- I'm sorry," she stammers, flustered at what just happened, "I- I have sensitive ears so..." her voice drowns in embarrassment.

Byulyi adjusts herself from her position and props her elbows to support her weight, "I understand."

Now, Yongsun doesn't know if she's more embarrassed at the fact that she has just moaned because of the sensitivity of her ears or at how the woman above her seemed unaffected and indifferent.

Byulyi is not. She is just good at hiding it.

"Sorry, but I believe that we have to keep this position for a while," she whispers looking at Yongsun who is still under her, "It seems that the walls don't only have ears but apparently has eyes too," she continues as she glances albeit briefly at her side.

"Oh... okay,"

The both of them can't afford to go against Minhyuk's indirect command. _No_ , not even Byulyi.

Both of them don't know how long they have been in that position but it's long enough for Byulyi to feel her arms going numb and by the way she has been alternating putting her weight between her two arms, Yongsun knows that she is almost at her limit.

"Are they still there?"

Byulyi nods.

Yongsun may not hear what Byulyi can hear nor see what she can see but she knows that she is telling the truth. 

She has already suspected it earlier because she felt that there definitely was something beneath the Head Lady's smile.

"Do you want to exchange places?" she suggests though she could see the hesitation in Byulyi's eyes.

"I'm fine,"

Yongsun scoffs at her answer but Byulyi just ignored her reaction.

"You're arms are shaking though,"

"It's not!"

"I thought you said that they are still here? Why are you raising your voice?"

Caught by her comment, Byulyi's cheeks start to flush in embarrassment.

"I'm fine, really, we will just h- whoa!"

Byulyi got caught in a surprise at Yongsun's strength. In one move, she was able to flip their positions. Now, she is underneath her while Yongsun is straddling on her hips.

"I said I'm fine," Yongsun rolls her eyes at her snarky reply but then she feels the woman under her stills.

"They're here?" she whispers and Byulyi nods.

_Just what kind of situation are they in?_

Yongsun slowly leans in and Byulyi quickly turns her head to the side.

"How were you able to hold out that long?"

Byulyi now scoffs back at her, "I told you, I'm fine but you still did it anyway,"

Yongsun now thinks that she may have grazed her pride.

Byulyi listens if there are still people listening on them and base on what she can, there are at least 10 of them.

  
_That Minhyuk!_

_Does he really have to go this far?_

She feels the sudden push of weight on her body, "Are you sleeping?" she asks as Yongsun's body sags on her.

"I'm not," the woman above her denies but her lethargic voice says otherwise.

_Now, who's stubborn?_

Whatever.

She lets her rest on top of her knowing that her wife is exhausted.

_Her wife._

It still is foreign to her.

She has vowed in the past that she won't ever marry in this lifetime but she finds herself married now.

Byulyi tentatively rests her hand on Yongsun's back to move her but before she could even do that, she stops as she feels herself stiffening up when Yongsun nuzzles her face on the crook of her neck.

_This woman!_

She tries to move but she hears her whining.

_The moon is certainly mocking me now._

Byulyi finds herself stuck in that position god knows how long until she feels herself growing tired at waiting— her eyelids now getting heavier. Feeling Yongsun's even breathing has, in some way, made her feel at peace as if she has found the thing that she has been looking for the longest time.

Unknowingly, as if she has been possessed by an unknown entity, Byulyi's delicate fingers threads on Yongsun's soft tresses until it rests on her head, cradling it to rest properly on the crook of her neck.

The last thing she remembers before everything turned black is Yongsun's soft warm breath fanning over her skin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the lyrics came from the song called melted from akmu! def a must-listen!


	5. New Moon: Part 4

**:::**

She kneels on the floor, staring at the traditional mulberry paper which is particularly well-suited for absorbing ink. Over the years, she has also noticed that it is also great in reflecting colors that's why she has always chosen to use it.

She breathes in.

She breathes out.

Once.

Twice.

The glint in her eyes has changed.

Her eyes are now entirely focused on the paper.

Calligraphy is something that she enjoys doing. It clears her head from unnecessary and inconsequential things. When she practices calligraphy, her mind is at peace. When her mind is serene, it'll help her to concentrate better.

To Byulyi, the exquisite art form of calligraphy helps her express her emotion. As she focuses, the worldly desires just dissipate into thin air. To be able to create simple yet beautiful strokes, one needs a clear and empty mind. 

In that space and time, it is just her and her brush. 

She finally takes the brush with a sharp-pointed tip made of the finest animal hair and carefully dips it into the ink. She smiles in satisfaction as it didn't dry out fast— this way, the ink would be finer. 

Grinding the ink stick on the inkstone used to be a tedious task to Byulyi. It's one of the things she used to dislike about calligraphy. She would sometimes think of skipping classes and just train but her sibling would tattle her to her teachers. She remembers sulking for betraying her and how she is now forced to attend her calligraphy classes. She would start grinding but doing so only hurts her arms. Byulyi used to be an impatient child. By the time she would space out to rest for a while, her teacher then would scold and hit her with his stick. 

_'Your highness, by merely grinding the stick on the inkstone shows a lot of how you are as a person.'_

Back then, Byulyi did not understand the depth of his words.

_'You should be mindful of how you grind your stick. You cannot use brute force just so that you can finish grinding it early— no, that is not how it works,' he would say then shows Byulyi how it is done, 'Grind it lightly to make a finer ink,' there was gracefulness on his movements. The way he moved seems calculated and forbearing._

_'I still don't understand,'_

_'The way you did it shows that you have no self-discipline.'_

_Byulyi looks up at him, her lips parted incredulously as he was right with what he just said. Those were the same words she had heard from her martial arts teacher._

_'By merely grinding the ink stick, it shows how you severely discipline yourself and how you abstain from all forms of indulgence.'_

_'Calligraphy is a state of mind,' he used to tell her._

True enough, after taking her calligraphy classes seriously, Byulyi has seen a tremendous improvement not only on her works but also on her attitude in life. Through it, she has learned discipline and perseverance.

_'The way characters are written is a portrait of the person who writes them,'_ and Byulyi agrees to it for it reflects one's emotions, character, accomplishments in self-cultivation, and approach to life. 

The moment she finishes the last stroke, an uninvited guest came crashing into the privacy of her study, breaking the tranquility of the atmosphere.

She should have known that it's too good to be true for her to have a peaceful morning all by herself in her study.

"How many times do I have to tell you to have the decency to knock or... I don't know, announce your presence maybe?" she sighs in exasperation when Hyejin ignored her question and only looked around.

"So, this is where you decided to hide?" her eyes wander for a moment then back to Byulyi who is now glaring at her accusation. _Hide?_ Her use of word appalls Byulyi. Hyejin needs to widen her vocabulary. She's merely resting! 

"Pardon?" Byulyi asks as she points at herself, "Me? Hiding? That's absurd!"

Hyejin smirks to herself. Byulyi might have not realized how she sounds right now. _Yeah, she just sounds like someone who has just been caught red-handed._ It's definitely rare for Hyejin, more so to others, to witness this sight and so she savors every moment, _every second_ at riling her. It's not an everyday occurrence to make the Moon Byulyi fluster, you know?

"Of course!" she claps before continuing, "Why would the great King's Hand even hide inside the privacy of her study when she hasn't done anything wrong, right?" the teasing tone definitely got to Byulyi as she furrows her brows in annoyance. She doesn't like how Hyejin seems to insinuate something when there is nothing to insinuate about!

"I'm not hiding," she hears Byulyi inhale some air before answering her calmly as she can yet emphasizing each word to make her point. 

"Yes, I know," Hyejin laughs yet Byulyi could hear every drip of sarcasm in her words, "Why would you even hide? It's not like you were found by your court ladies in a _very_ compromising position with your wife, right?" and the moment Hyejin drops the one thing she has avoided ever since she woke up this morning, her hand reacted as it suddenly twitched as if she has been caught and unfortunately her hand has been holding the brush which accidentally smears the paper— rendering it to its ruins.

_There._

Hyejin pats herself for a job well done. Teasing Byulyi is such a fun yet challenging thing to do. The woman has always had control over her emotions and rarely does she even be like this. It's always Byulyi who is quiet. Byulyi who is intimidating. Byulyi who is very calculating with her every move. Byulyi who rarely loses her composure even under immense pressure. Hyejin has tried various ways to rile her up and rarely does she ever succeed. Byulyi usually ignores her but this... _t_ _his_ is definitely riling her up.

Byulyi sees the change in glint on Hyejin's eyes and every time she sees it, she knows that nothing good has ever come out from it. 

"W-what," Byulyi clears her throat as it comes off a bit pitchy, "What are you even talking about?"

"I wonder," and at that exact time and place, Byulyi just wants to take Hyejin's mocking smile off of her face. Of course, this is not the only time she has thought of that but if she's only given one chance then she would take it this time because Hyejin has never been _this_ annoying to her.

Hyejin's thoroughly enjoying this.

_She's been poke fun at only because of what happened earlier._

She pinches the bridge of her nose, remembering the event that took place right after she woke up.

Byulyi feels something moving on top of her. She ignores it at first but then there came another. Usually, she would get up to check whatever it is but she feels comfortable on her bed that she just wants to lie on it for a bit longer. She has been used to sleeping on the ground— the coldness and hardness of the ground is something that she has grown accustomed to after serving the military and that is why her bed in the palace seems more of a stranger to her. For the first time, her bed feels so comfortable to lie on.

She feels the sun rising and she just feels warm. Her bed pulls the entirety of her body and she feels melting on it. _It's warm._ At this point, she should have already questioned herself because it has never been warm on her bed.

She feels something on her neck and her nose feels ticklish for some reason.

"Hngg,"

She swats away the thing that has been tickling her nose— _though it smells good._

Wait.

She stills.

_Hngg?_

By now, Byulyi's body is awake. Her sleepiness is gone away in a snap.

Her hand automatically goes to find her dagger but she stilled the moment she felt it again. The ticklish feeling on her neck came back. It came in light and even. _Warm._ She now feels the weight on top of her. 

_What is happening?_

She opens her eyes then checks what— or more precisely who is on top of her.

_Kim Yongsun._

Everything came back to Byulyi.

That's right. She got married to the Princess of Cheon-il yesterday. The ceremony and the rites. The feast. The moon— and the things they had to do to pretend that they have consummated their marriage.

_What the hell?_

Yongsun is sleeping peacefully, her head resting on her chest as it heaves up and down.

She abruptly removes her hand from Yongsun which has been snugly resting on the small dip of her back to secure her body.

Byulyi doesn't know what to do with her awkward hands on the air. Should she just tap her to wake her up? What if she still doesn't wake up? Should she just shake her up instead?

Byulyi looks around the room. She wants to call for help.

She just doesn't know what to do in this situation. To be honest, she has never been this intimate with any other woman nor man. The things she did yesterday— all of it were her first. She dared not to be that close to anybody else. She vowed not to get married lest being intimate with anyone.

She should have listened at least once to Hyejin's escapade with her women instead of tuning out. Mayhaps she could have gotten an idea of what to do with this kind of situation that she is currently in. 

She's contemplating whether she should just wake her up or wait for her to wake up.

Ultimately, after some time of thinking, Byulyi decides to do the former.

"Uhh, Yongsun?" she calls as she taps her arm but she only receives a whine from her.

"I think you have to get up?" she feels her stir up, her brows furrowed in annoyance and her nose all scrunched up.

"Later," she manages to hear before Yongsun went back to sleep.

_Should I just throw her aside? That'll definitely wake her up._

"Yongsun? It's morning, we have to get up," she tries one more time and fortunately, Yongsun decided to hear her out.

Slowly, Yongsun sits up, now straddling on her stomach. Byulyi didn't mind it at first knowing that the woman is pretty much half-asleep but the moment her eyes wander and got fixed on her clothes, she definitely did mind after all!

Maybe due to moving around in her sleep, Yongsun's string-like long ribbon that ties her upper garment has come undone which has slipped off from her shoulders revealing the smooth, porcelain-like skin. The only thing that is covering her modesty is her inner garment which could only do so much under Byulyi's gaze. She gulps down before looking away, her face now a bright red.

"Will you please get off me?" it came out gruff.

Yongsun, realizing the position that they are in became flustered. Her eyes then came down to her chest which is revealing so much skin as her upper garment has come undone. It has slipped off from her shoulder, "I-I apologize! Oh, my god! I-" she has tried backing away from Byulyi but her foot has chosen the wrong place to step on.

With her reflex, Byulyi immediately sits up to prevent her wife from falling on the floor while Yongsun tries to get her hand to hold onto something as she feels herself falling. 

"We are entering your highne-"

Everything came standing still.

Byulyi could hear a pin drop as the door to her room opens widely.

Her hearing has now become more sensitive than before and she could hear an almost absolute silence. The only sounds that she could hear is a heartbeat— hers or from the woman who she now calls her wife? She doesn't know. She could not discern. _It's loud... and so fast._ Most probably it came from both of them.

The ladies-in-waiting, as well as the Head Lady, respectfully avert their eyes away from the scene in front of them.

On the messy bed lies Yongsun underneath Byulyi who is holding her bare shoulders to balance her body. With the hard tug earlier from Yongsun, Byulyi's garments have loosened very much which exposed a tiny bit of her relatively pale skin underneath.

They're caught on a very, _very_ compromising position.

Byulyi pulls away. She stands up, fixing her clothes as well as Yongsun who has her face hidden behind the curtains of her long soft hair. Byuyi catches a glimpse of the tip of her red ears and Yongsun's reaction only fuels her embarrassment.

"I believe I still have something to do. Please take care of my wife," and bolts out of the room.

Before she has even realized it herself, she has taken refuge inside her study.

"-yi! Byulyi! Earth to Byulyi!"

"Huh?" she absentmindedly answers.

"You seem pretty out of it. Are you alright?" Hyejin checks her temperature by touching her forehead, "Your face rivals the ripest tomato I've ever seen," and with that comment, Byulyi swats her hand away, earning a hiss from Hyejin.

"If you have nothing better to do here, I would greatly appreciate it if you would rather go away and leave me alone. Thank you," she says as she pushes Hyejin away from her room.

"Fine, fine, fine," Hyejin holds up her arms in surrender, "I'm going out now," and she definitely hears a quiet _finally_ from her superior. 

"Before I leave, you should really do something about the leaves of paper on the floor," she teases her for the last time before she leaves a riled up Byulyi _again_.

She finally sighs in relief when Hyejin is no longer around. _Hyejin's quite a handful, really._ She then now looks at the messy piles of paper which she has used earlier after countlessly failing at it.

_I think I need a bath right now._

She leaves the room— the papers on the floor remain untouched. All of it contains the same character that she has been writing all over again. 

_Sunshine._

**:::**

Yongsun’s mouth slightly hangs open as she sees Byulyi’s back getting smaller as she bolts out of the room. She did not just leave her alone to fend off for herself, did she? She stays rooted on her place as her eyes dart towards the court ladies that seem to be still taken aback at what just took place seconds ago and to the door that looks pretty inviting as she wants to get out of this place at this instant! 

_I will protect your honor, her foot!_

How could she just leave her alone with her court ladies without even explaining what happened earlier?

They weren't doing anything indecent after all! They... they were just caught in such a compromising position that would surely raise eyebrows from everyone else. _It was just an accident,_ Yongsun wanted to say but nothing comes out from her mouth. 

Yongsun is just lost for words.

"Pardon our intrusion, your highness," the Head Lady finally finds her voice and walks straight at the edge of the bed and picks up the sheet and thoroughly checks at the blood-stained cloth that used to be pristine white.

Yongsun gasps quietly as she remembers what happened yesterday. How could she even forget that? It looks like exhaustion has made her forget momentarily the memories of yesterday.

Blood rises on her face as she could not look at anyone in the eyes.

_Just why is she left alone in this mess? Where is her supposed to be wife when she needs her the most? Why does she have to face this embarrassment alone?_

"I need to take a bath," she murmurs, avoiding the Head Lady's pleased eyes who is still holding the bloodied sheet on her hands.

_Can she just put it away from her face?_

The Head Lady calls one of the ladies-in-waiting and tells her to prepare a bath for Yongsun.

"She will help you in your bath, your highness," referring to the lady whom she has asked to prepare for her bath.

Yongsun raises her hand as the Head Lady is about to turn her back, "Is it possible if I have my handmaiden help me instead?" 

The Head Lady contemplates whether to agree or not but after seeing Yongsun's bashful appearance and hearing her timid voice, she agrees.

"As you wish, your highness,"

**:::**

The comforting smell of lavender and vanilla brings out a satisfied sigh from Yongsun. She submerges herself deeper as Wheein helps her. Wheein smiles as she feels Yongsun melt as she massages her tense shoulders. Sighs from her lady fill up the room. It is even better as Wheein infuses the luxurious oil she brought from Cheon-il to the bathwater. It soothes her skin and relaxes her mind, easing the stress she has felt earlier.

"What's with the commotion earlier?" Wheein breaks off the silence as she now massages Yongsun's hair.

A Wolgwang court lady came into the quarters reserved for her fellow court ladies and called for her as Yongsun requested for her service. The moment she arrived at the room, she saw Yongsun looking at her for help as if she needed to get out of the room and Wheein could understand her. The room is just filled with a thick air of awkwardness.

Instead of answering, Yongsun blows bubbles on the water.

"So, you are not going to answer me?" and still she receives a remote silence, "Perhaps it has something to do with the sheet that the Head Lady is holding?" and finally she earns a reaction from her. 

She calmly lowers her eyes as Yongsun stands before her, coughing after spluttering a series of incomprehensible words. 

"H-how?"

Wheein shrugs before pulling Yongsun down back into the water after murmuring _you'll catch a cold._

"Well? I'm all ears,"

"It's embarrassing," now Wheein is more intrigued when Yongsun refuses to tell her what happened, "I've seen you do a lot of embarrassing things but you're only embarrassed now? I think there's something wrong with your logic,"

Yongsun knows that Wheein is only teasing her but she does have a point after reflecting on all the things that she has done in the past.

"It's not just a sheet," she says, "It's a blood-stained sheet."

She listens to her and lets her words sink in. Wheein's confused face morphed into a stupefied one.

"P-pardon?" asking Yongsun if what is on her mind is what she is implying.

Yongsun gestures a _tiny bit._

Wheein gasps.

"What do you mean a tiny bit? Does that even make sense?" she questions.

"Lower your voice," Yongsun whisper-yells at her and gestures for her to keep quiet.

"You better explain!" 

_Just what in the world happened yesterday?_

"... and that's what happened," Yongsun narrates.

Wheein stays still for a moment, processing what Yongsun has just said.

"So, the two of you pretended that you have consummated your marriage to fool them?" Yongsun nods, "and that's the only thing that you could do because her brother, the King has mandated it?"

"Yes, that's right. Byulyi said that she can't directly go against it so she told me to pretend that we had done it. Hence, the blood on the sheets as supposed to be proof," Yongsun tells her.

So, Wolgwang does has its fair share of beliefs just like Cheon-il.

Wheein sighs in relief. She's thankful to Byulyi for not forcing Yongsun to do something that is against her will and instead found a way to get both of them out of the mess. At least, she knows that Moon Byulyi will really honor her word. 

"Let's get you out of here then I'll ask for your breakfast be delivered in your room," Wheein says before helping Yongsun to dry herself.

"Thanks, Wheein-ah,"

**:::**

It's almost time for her people to go back to Cheon-il. That also means that her father is also leaving her here.

The two of them are left alone inside the tea room. Yongsun still has not memorized the layout of her wife's quarters. It has a lot of hallways and rooms. It looks like it is probably a lot bigger than she has back in her kingdom. She needs to take a tour with someone who knows the place really well and she already has a person in mind.

"It's almost time for us to go back to Cheon-il," her father breaks off the silence after taking a sip of the tea, "I can't leave Changho alone for too long there," referring to his advisor and also Joon's father.

Yongsun nods. She knows it too well that leaving the country for too long is not good. It'll probably take them another two weeks to arrive at Cheon-il.

"Are the supplies enough to last the people?" 

"Yes, King Minhyuk has been kind to give us food and other supplies for our journey," he replies smiling kindly at his daughter who still refuses to meet his eyes. It hurts but he will swallow the pain. He won't see her for a while so as he talks, he would etch his daughter's face in his memory, "They had also given us some horses to use. I heard that Wolgwang breeds one of the best horses. I've seen them with my own eyes earlier and they're definitely strong," he shares to his daughter who has taken a liking on horses. He remembers how Yongsun would sneak off with Joon just to ride horses. She would then get scolded as she arrives home covered in dirt.

"Stop looking at me like that," Yongsun says finally looking at him in the eyes, "Stop looking at me like you won't ever see me again," and her eyes glimmered in tears.

"Oh, Yongsun," and Haejin engulfs his daughter in a hug, something that he has always done when she was younger especially at night whenever she misses her mother. Oh, his beautiful and lovely wife, Sunhee. She has gone too early and left the two of them in this world. Every time he looks at his daughter, he would see Sunhee for Yongsun shares most of her features from her mother. Especially her eyes and her personality. Both women have a fiery attitude and are very passionate which is reflected in their eyes.

_'Haejin-ah, my love, please take care of our daughter,' she whispered as she held his hand._

_'I will, my love. I will,' he promised as he sobs._

_'I only want Yongsun to be happy. That is my only wish for her,' she smiled, her eyes in a daze, 'I love you,' and finally she has taken her rest._

Haejin tears up.

_I broke my promise, Sunhee. Our Yongsun can never be happy in this lifetime._

His daughter melts into his arms and hugged him back.

_It has been too long, my daughter._

"I'm sorry, Yongsun," he says as he rubs her heaving back from crying, "I'm so sorry that I have been a bad father to you." 

_I'm so sorry for stealing your happiness away from you._

After a while, his daughter has calmed down. His heart constricted at the sight of her tear-stricken face.

"You won't be alone, Yongsun-ah," he tells her as he dries her tears, "I'll leave Wheein with you. I know that you need her the most," those two have been inseparable ever since they were little. Yongsun most likely needs someone who she can lean on for support and who is the better person to do this except the person who she has been for a long time?

"Isn't it like a given to have Wheein by my side?" Yongsun replies and the two of them break into laughter.

A comfortable silence falls upon them.

Haejin takes something from his pocket and takes Yongsun's hand for her to take it. He could see how her eyes widen in surprise, her lips parted in a gasp.

"T-This is... How? Where?" she asks him, her eyes on the bracelet that she thought she had lost years ago.

"I found this by accident in the pond," he explains to her.

He remembers taking a walk one morning near the pond and it's just a pure coincidence that from the corner of his eyes that he noticed something shiny in the water. His curiosity won over him and asked one of his attendants to get it and turns out that it's a bracelet.

"Y-you remember?"

"Of course. I remembered you were crying a lot back then because you lost it," he smiles at her.

_I remember everything about you, Yongsun-ah._

He passed by and saw his daughter getting scolded _again_ because she was caught playing in the pond which dirtied her clothes. He shook his head in amusement when he thought that dirt and Yongsun can't be separated. His daughter always finds ways to feel the earth.

After realizing that she has lost her bracelet, she went back again into the pond to look for it. He remembers the commotion that she has caused as everyone stopped her from getting near the pond.

"This was made by a master craftsman," he said to her one day and gave her the bracelet that he has commissioned from the best craftsman in Cheon-il. 

She looked at it but her eyes are still sad.

"Do you not like it? I will ask for another if you don't,"

"No, please. You don't have to that, father," she replies, "It's just that no bracelet can ever replace the bracelet that I have lost."

_The Sun seems to hide behind the clouds, making the ambiance gloomy mirroring Yongsun's sentiments._

Her retreating back just seemed so sad and he is disappointed at himself for failing at cheering her up.

"Thank you, father," he looks up and sees Yongsun finally smiling at him.

He smiles at her, "This is nothing, my precious daughter,"

_Until the next time they see each other again._

**:::**

By afternoon, the entourage has left the gates of Wolgwang. 

_'May the Sun give you strength, my daughter. May your light never waver.'_

Yongsun has bid her farewell to her father. She wished them protection throughout their journey back to their country.

_'May the light of the Sun protects you from evil.'_

They did not exchange more words. A hug from him was enough for Yongsun to last her for a while. The betrayal still hurts, to be honest, but she doesn't want it to be the reason for her to regret her choices. She does not know when she will be able to see him back and she could not let bitter words be the last thing her father would hear from her.

_May time heal the wounds of betrayal._

She saw Joon riding his steed. He looks so fine in his uniform. His soft curly hair contrasts that of the roughness of his face. Joon used to have that daintiness back in his boyhood. Now, not even a faint trace of delicateness can be seen in his appearance. The military has toughened him up. The soft hands that she used to hold back then are now calloused with the time he spent in the military. His unsullied eyes have been tainted with countless death from both of his enemies and allies.

The little Joon back then and the Joon in the present are seemingly two different people. _They're too different._ But Yongsun loves them the same. However, she has promised that she'll cease the longing she has on him for she has already been tied with the Moon.

_The Moon has been their witness._

She has to do her duty as Byulyi's wife.

She is now bound to her to this lifetime.

They may have not wanted it but it has been done.

The burning fire and the frigid water has bound their souls into one.

The Sun and the Moon have been the witness of their union. 

They have blessed them and so Yongsun has to honor their marriage and so is Byulyi.

Their eyes met and Yongsun could read the pain and sorrow that he has been trying to conceal in his eyes. _I'm sorry, Joon._

Yongsun knows that it is so selfish of her to tell him to forget the feelings he has for her. _Cruel. I'm so cruel._ Between the two of them, Joon can still find his happiness. Joon deserves to be happy. Yongsun has to let him go but Joon also has to do it too. Joon has to let her go. It makes no sense for him to hold on to something that will never be. He has to let go now than be hurt longer.

_Joon, I know this is so selfish and cruel of me, but, please let me go._

Joon looked at her and smiled at her before turning his back and finally leaving the gates of the palace.

His back became smaller and smaller until she can no longer see him.

_May you find the light towards your happiness, Joon._

_For the last time, I love you._


End file.
